tedster - 4:09 pm on Sep 10, 2012 (gmt 0)

I don't think we ALL agree on almost anything at all. However, I'm quite certain that this IS the way that both Panda and Penguin work. They are both very complex and computationally heavy secondary algorithms. They are based on machine learning and they only affect websites on the dates that either a dedicated Data Refresh or full Update occur.

The confusion for Penguin comes, in my opinion, because of the "bad backlinks" campaign that Google is running. Some people assumed that Penguin was all about bad backlinks, so when that independent Webmaster Tools program started up, it began to get confused with Penguin.

I'd suggest anyone who wants a broader view of Penguin go back and re-read the original announcement for clues and hints: Another step to reward high-quality sites [insidesearch.blogspot.com]