hasbeen - 6:45 pm on Jan 23, 2002 (gmt 0)

>>Their habits are that shocking eh!!

Ian's point seems to sum up my view of this topic, or, should I say, the extension of the topic. Far be it from me to disagree with the "capo di tutti capi" on this, but the 'Guy's original intent seems to have been forgotten.

I don't see this as Google wanting to nip any future competition in the bud. Rather, they know the amount of traffic their service generates and feel it's as good a forum as any to bring this malaise to the attention of as many people as possible. What's the harm in that? Will I put pop-up information/warnings on my sites? You bet...if my employers don't mind (I'm not the be all, end all for my sites, unfortunately).

There's no debating that so-called "scumware" is a problem. Google just wants to make people aware of the fact that it exists and that people need to pay more attention to what they're getting with their pirated _____[insert medium of preference].

Just my .01 (it's not worth shelling out the extra penny).