[j2kun]

PageRank is definitely still used, although it's doubtfully the sole determinant of ranking results. See http://jeremykun.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/googles-page-rank-...

[technel]

I agree with your statement, but I'm confused by the story in the link... I haven't come across a message board that doesn't use rel="nofollow" in a few years (that NYT article is from 2010). How would these negative reviews bolster his PageRank?

[wahnfrieden]

Google seems to still weight those links, just differently or with less weight.