martingale - 1:13 am on Mar 16, 2005 (gmt 0)

The thing about engaging in practices that would disparage google... I really think that they goofed here.

If we take it the way that it reads then I have just violated the TOS by posting this message, and so have most of you who have posted anything critical of Google on this or any other forum. I can't believe that Google's intent is to shut down webmasterworld and other forums.

I think they must have intended it to be something they could hold over adult or criminal websites, claiming that any such association would disparage Google's good reputation. Instead, they have produced a TOS agreement that is effectively prior restraint on speech, which probably isn't legal at least under United States law.