Google is in a tough position. If they keep their algorithms secret, they are accused of not being transparent. If they reveal their algorithms, they get gamed

Google is in a tough position. If they keep their algorithms secret, they are accused of not being transparent. If they reveal their algorithms, they get gamed by spammers. If they reveal only vague hints and guidelines, they are accused of manipulating content. And if they don't use ever more elaborate algorithms, they get overrun with spam. By becoming defacto ruler of the internet, Google has put themselves in a position of outrageous power and responsibility. They are fighting a vicious war with spammers and content farms and the rest of the web is caught in the crossfire. Personally, I agree with you that Google should not be telling people how to run their sites. They should never have said a word about how their algorithm works, or even what it's named, when it's updated, etc. They should tell people "just make great web sites, searching them is our problem".