I'm not a Google expert either -- whatever that would mean -- but I've worked in large software organizations. My point was that the linked article naively con

I'm not a Google expert either -- whatever that would mean -- but I've worked in large software organizations. My point was that the linked article naively conceptualizes Google as a unitary entity that either "knows" something or doesn't. As to your point, a software engineering organization releases products that are the results of myriad goals and constraints (requirements, priorities, schedules, bugs, etc.). Products aren't merely reflections of what the engineers can or cannot do. So it's likely that the search team can filter crap results? Is that really all that we need to know before we decide that Google search is intentionally designed to profit from spam?