I've been a huge fan of Google for years, but given some their current projects, I've got to wonder if going public has been bad for them. Google used to be very ethical, but between gMail and AutoLink, I've got to wonder.
And the problem with both is the same thing - that Google can create links based on content according to what Google has decided upon, not upon what the page's writer has decided upon. This is just unbelievably slimey. As a result, I don't use gMail and never will, no matter how many "free accounts" I've been offered.
AutoLink is simultaneously "better" and "worse" than gMail. Many Google users will never see it. The only ones that will are those who use the GoogleToolbar. But, if you use the toolbar, you'll see links included on Web pages not intended by the Web page's creator.
Sorry, this is wrong. It looks like Google is going down that slippery slope that other search engines have gone down - making advertisers more important than content creators. I'm very disappointed by Google's behavior.
Oddly, I first read about AutoLink in this week's Time magazine. I went in search of scripts to kill AutoLink at my site, and found some at Threadwatch.org.
I guess that's what being out of the country then getting sick will do for you. I am doing a little better - I'm only really sick in the morning. By the afternoon, I start to feel better.
