andrewg - 5:45 am on Apr 17, 2003 (gmt 0)

I had a theory: Google's policy on the word "online" rolled out just around the time they inked the deal with AOL.

What are the chances that "America Online" stipulated that ad titles should not contain the word "online" lest their sorry subscribers be confused? This theory isn't too far-fetched. I used to get AOL users stumbling on one of my sites' contact pages thinking they were contacting AOL Customer Service.

Also in my experience, advertisers who do a good job of explaining their special situation will get a fair hearing from Google Editorial staff.

However, on things like spelling, punctuation, banned items, prohibited words, etc. - these are likely going to be more rule-based and non-negotiable. There are some grey areas that are negotiable, but apparently use of the word "online" is not one of them.