londrum - 7:56 pm on Jul 26, 2010 (gmt 0)

its a bit dumb really, i think, if they downgrade links based on their age.

its like this... when your link is new its like your book appearing on the New York Times bestseller list. You'll get a big boost. But when it drops off the list, the benefit will dwindle. that sounds reasonable.

but does it mean your book is any less good when it drops off the bestseller list? of course it doesn't. it was new, that's all, so everyone talked about. but now everyone's said their bit they want to talk about something new. but it doesn't mean that your book is any less relevant than it was before.
the same with links. once everyone has spent two weeks blogging "look at this, look at this, it's amazing" its bound to drop off the front page. but its still amazing.

another example: movies.
when "The Godfather" came out we can imagine that it got millions of links saying how great it was. but these days it doesn't get so many, because there's not so many people talking about it. but its still a great movie. why should all those old reviews be discounted? it doesn't make sense. things dont get worse just because you put a bit of time between them.