Cause of Google PR penalty/Drop

Speculation, fear, uncertainty, doubt

[wheel]

My assumption this recent Google PR dump is actually an algorithmic change. Based on that, what are your thoughts on the following:
1) What's causing the PR drop? Specifically, what factors?
2) Does it affect anything other than TBPR? Passing PR? Rankings?
3) Is there any fix or correction that one can make? Do we even need to correct this?

[wanderingmind]

Not any expert on this, but I thought the latest drop was purely to do with blog networks and excessive cross-linking?

[wheel]

Maybe, but I don't think that's it completely. Or at least what you've described are only symptoms.

My take on it:
1) I suspect it's all onpage stuff causing the PR drop. Not reported sites, or even blog networks, but instead they're looking at data about the site and deciding to drop the PR algorithmically. I don't think it's got to do with inbound links (I've seen a site that got hit that has squeaky clean backlinks).

2) My gut take is that it's only affecting PR or TBPR. And as we know PR doesn't make too much of a difference in ranking. It may however decrease the affected site's ability to pass PR.

[decaff]

I don't think it's got to do with inbound links (I've seen a site that got hit that has squeaky clean backlinks).

Of course, since the PR is adjusted downward across any set of link relationships..then pages interlinking will be affected downward as well (for PR)...(and root urls will get hit hardest)

This may be Google's way of attacking the selling of PR per link ads (something they have frowned on from the start)...

They do this periodically to hopefully "change" the behavior of the really aggressive PR mercenaries...