"NoFollow" and Authority Directories

Diminishes the authority status score?

[King of Bling]

On our directories, we link out for two reasons; 1. To solidify our 'authority' status, and 2. To provide our readers with additional/relevant information.

Now I'm wondering... if I start to use the rel="nofollow" attribute on outbound links - will this affect my directories authority status score?

I know it's too early to have definitive answers, but would anyone wish to postulate? Could there be benefits or downsides...?

KOB

[chengfu]

I just wonder: Why would you want to mark your links with rel="nofollow"?
Besides all objections one can have against rel="nofollow" - and I sure do have some - this attribute is intended to mark user-created links that have not or could not be validated by the site owner. This shouldn't apply to links in a directory...

Bye, CF

[jenkers]

I can see hundreds of new 'directories' springing up in the next few months.

Rationale: I could set up a directory - have a few good ranking PR pages from my own network point at it.

Set up a post your own link in any category with as much descriptive text as you like - so that webmasters can post as many websites as they like in any category.

This would need no management / administration from me and the directory would grow unchecked - I would not have to worry about linking to bad neighbourhoods and I would not leak any PR.

I would have lots of pages crammed with keywords for the SE's to munch on.

I wouldn't care about the quality of the site - I'd put some contextual advertising on each page so that I could catch the traffic that got directed from the SE's.

I should point out that I would never actually do this - but know from experience there are thousands out there who would (and will).

Thus, I think if you operate a directory and use the nofollow - you will cease to be an authority.

In the long run, I suspect this could really hurt you as G and the other search engines will start penalising directories that do this.