[mahranch]

"The only reason it isn't fair is that the site disappears from Google for the BRAND term e.g. [rap genius]."

How is that not fair? They were caught attempting to cheat google. Not only that, but cheat their competitors and us (the users). In most scenarios (criminal, sports, academic), being caught means it's game over. And that's exactly what happened here.

When you get caught stealing from a cash register or breaking into a house, they don't just make you put the stuff back and send you on your way. When you caught cheating in professional sports, you forfeit the entire game; in higher academia, kicked out of school.

If anything, I think google is too soft on people attempting to cheat them. When it's obvious and blatant, they need to lay down the law so hard that people won't even consider it next time. This will make the user experience better for everyone. A slap on the wrist tells people the risk is worth it and that means we will be served up potentially worse (less organic) search results.

[itsprofitbaron]

  How is that not fair?

"My personal belief is that, devaluing the site for the BRAND term e.g. [rap genius] actually devalues Google's quality. On the other side of the coin, if someone searches for [X rap genius] whilst they are under penalty its fair that they do not rank for that either. However, there are obvious reasons as to why the search quality team have decided to do this."

  If anything, I think google is too soft on people attempting to cheat them. 

Google's Search Quality Team are actually pretty strict in terms of reviewing the reconsideration request and if the site has previously had a penalty they pay extra attention to the cleanup.

[ChikkaChiChi]

Criminal, sports, and academic concerns are all governed by bodies that impose those sanctions. When Google imposes a sanction they are the judge, jury, and executioner.

Since Google offers a public service and is owned by public shareholders, this poses somewhat of a problem....especially when you consider their marketshare and whether or not such sanctions offers them a competitive advantage.

[dragonwriter]

> Criminal, sports, and academic concerns are all governed by bodies that impose those sanctions. When Google imposes a sanction they are the judge, jury, and executioner.

Actually, in all of those cases, the judge and executioner (and, usually, the legislature making the rules) are all employees of the same organization. In some cases there is a separate jury as a finder of fact (e.g., in criminal cases in the US and countries similar legal systems), though in sports and academic cases there may well not be, depending on the particular rules of the particular organization.

[gaadd33]

Since when does the NCAA act as anything other than the judge, jury, and executioner?