M.F.A. - Is Google guilty of this practice?

Have you ever seen a Google Link Units page?

[rehabguy]

I just feel like starting an argument tonight... ;}

Google sent me an email the other day, telling me that I could "Boost My AdSense Earnings with Link Units"

WebmasterWorld members often complain about MFA sites.

Have any of you ever seen an AdLinks page? It's a Google logo and 100% ads - no content, no nothing!

Isn't this the definition of a MFA site?

Come on, Google defenders, explain this one!

[europeforvisitors]

It can't be called an MFA site, because Google.com was created long before AdWords or AdSense came along.

A "Link Units" landing page could be called an MFA page, but so what? AdWords and AdSense are Google's products, and Google gets to decide where and how AdWords/AdSense ads (including Link Units) are used.

It's also worth noting that:

1) Link Units are headed by the term "Ads by Google," so there's a fairly clear implication that the links (which have no accompanying text, and therefore don't look like ads themselves) will lead to ads.

2) There's no cost to an advertiser or payment to a publisher if a user clicks on a link in a Link Unit, so Link Units aren't directly comparable to AdWords/AdSense text ads.