steveb - 6:10 am on Mar 27, 2006 (gmt 0)

"When humans intervene with hand coded SERP's, the problems multiply exponentially."

You seem to think algos spring from the head of Zeus. Algos are created by humans to decide the exact things/problems that you say "multiply exponentially".

What standards are used?
Who makes the choices?
Are the choices evaluated by others?
If so, who evaluates the choices?
Etc.

You are arguing no point at all. Every one of those decisions relates not at all to whether a serp is handsorted or algo sorted.

Handsorted serps though have the advantage of far greater accountability, which in itself should make them preferable to anyone who cares about quality and responsibility. Furthermore, unlike an algo, handsorting can far more easily include a diverce range of resources... ecommerce, info, historical, etc. Higher accountability, greater quality, better diversity, there is no downside anywhere, unless your stuff is low quality junk.