Elsmarc - 9:16 pm on Sep 29, 2012 (gmt 0)

aristotle

With regard to "quality" of a site, I stand by my statement - An algorithm can not judge the "quality" of a site. I know Google doesn't see it that way which is why, in part, it's a farce for them to say they can. In the early days that did work to some degree. Today, not so much. Too much data and too many "signals". Using a mathematical algorithm, especially with so many factors, is a nice idea but usually backfires. That's why I have no problem with the NSA in the US "recording" everyone's phone calls, email, the web sites they visit, etc., etc. The more data you have, and the more "signals" you try to put in there to watch for, the less significant information you can get. There is simply too much noise. You end up with too many false positives and miss the important stuff in the noise.

But then again, although I retired in 2003 I spent my "working life" as a quality assurance professional and consultant so I will give you the concession of how one defines "quality" is always subjective whether it's a web site, a car, a stereo, the service a plumber gives you, a girl friend (!), or - Well, anything.

[edited by: Elsmarc at 9:31 pm (utc) on Sep 29, 2012]