Wouldn't surprise me if SE's already value links from known forum software (significantly) less than links from other sites. Something like:
if (referring_site_software=phpBB) then PR = PR * 0,5 |
That or the context of the page...if it detects the page is a profile page, give it less weight. That could cover many types of software too. |
Based on the SEO hat 'guidelines' mentioned it would probably be rated as "grey", but I reckon it might be a bit darker than that... |
I'd say Gray to Slate Gray
I'm pretty sure that Google has some system for managing this, especially now this is so widely known |
Registering on phpbb forums to increase page rank is quite common as far as I know. In my website (http://www.sporeuniverse.net)'s forums (which are almost dead right now) around 5 people/bots register everyday without ever posting just to link to dodgy websites (http://sporeuniverse.net/forum/memberlist.php?start=250). I used to delete them at first but now they have become so rampant that I have relented on doing that and only mass-delete them ones every few months.
They are really annoying and I hope Google and other search engines find a way to combat this (though perhaps if most forums actually nofollow these links the spammers will cut down on doing this automatically.) |
"You can create links to allow your readers to quickly add your blog to the Technorati favorites and boost your Technorati rankings. "
http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200611/have_your_say_about_the_future_of_html/
via :randy (KbCafe) |
I vote for "Charcoal" because he does not spam the forum itself.
Anyways, both black shades are pure spam to me, no reason to call that SEO anymore. Anything that is purely automatic and is only designed to trick engines and/or users is spam.
Optimization is designed to assist both users and engines. |
Pure black, because the spammer adds absolutely no value to the BB, and takes away some of the existing value (by making the members list pretty meaningless). |
