I cannot speak for the article as whole, since you have covered a lot of turf. Therefore I am going to make two points.

First, any tool can be used to abuse or create. Google is one of those tools that can be used or abused. The problem is, there are a lot of very evil people out there now. Google needs to realize that and act appropriately, and I think they are trying. They just aren't trying hard enough yet. They need several staff looking at the sites that use them to abuse others to curtail the practice. So far, I don't think they have done enough, and they DEFINITELY do not have enough staff members engaged in finding and curtailing the abuses. It would not affect them very much at all.

Second, adding links on your page without your consent is in my opinion a violation of copyright. You have already noted you don't like it. How do you think Barnes & Noble and Borders feel? I realize that Barnes & Noble is now putting in links to defeat the AutoLink feature, but do you realize how much work that is? Even with some automation it is something they should never have done in the first place. I WISH BARNES & NOBLE WOULD SUE GOOGLE! I have nothing to do with Barnes & Noble, Borders, or Amazon other than buying product from all three. But I wish Barnes & Noble and Borders would sue Google because this is definitely copyright infringement. You cannot change copyrighted material, and the last time I checked, every one of Barnes & Noble and Borders pages has a copyright on it. I am reasonably sure if I were a juror I would be able to convince the jurors of that in court trial (which of course excuses me from jury duty).

It is not that I am anti-Google. I like the company, but somebody needs to rein some of their practices in a little. They also need to stop an incessant push for this great thing and that great thing, and put some effort into making sure they aren't used to do damage. I realize this message isn't popular with them. After all, it costs money for them to do it, and there is no return for the investment other than maybe to make them feel better about themselves.

hhhobbit

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