bluemamba - 12:12 pm on Nov 18, 2010 (gmt 0)

I have no reason/motivation to spin anything and I did indeed read that thread on the Adwords forum about the ftp software and many others similar to it. I also don't think that you are in fundamental disagreement with what I wrote, you simply are struggling to come to terms with what's happened. And that's understandable because it is intensely exasperating the feeling of helplessness when you get google slapped unfairly.

I don't know how many keywords you use to advertise your site but from where I sit its about 100,000 across several countries and languages. I also analyse the collective QS of all my campaigns every few hours to see patterns of how it ebbs and flows. All the evidence I have indicates to me that we are dealing with a new algorithm now and we need to learn to adapt to it. If you are seeing 3s and 4s then Google has not shut the door on you. Stick your foot in that door, wedge it open and keep experimenting until you can get a better result. And like I said keep pestering them until they can clue you in better about your specific situation.