i don't comment publicly about GOOGLE.. but i just can't help it this time. i took a major hit (PR) on 4 or 5 of my LEGIT/HTML/MANUALLY MANAGED/INFORMATIVE websites the other day. none were removed from their index, but most went to ZERO PR. i do NOT cross link at all among my sites. i conduct my business in private - AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. i use gmail - well, i USED TO. i'm moving everything AWAY from gmail - period. i like GOOGLE as a search engine / technology company, but a lot of "stuff" they do just BAFFLES ME, it really does. all the good stuff they do is overshadowed by the "really odd things" they do. i just needed to rant a little i guess. INTERESTING SIDE NOTE: after getting WHACKED (PR) the other day, my traffic + adsense earnings have been VERY GOOD to EXCLELENT. whatever...
Then why worry? I enjoy TBPR as much as the next person, but the bottom line is traffic. FWIW, the first two sites in your signature are still showing some PR.
Yeah, I've heard of the same thing happening to others. If your traffic and your ads aren't suffering, then I suspect it's not as big a problem as it may appear at first.
At least one of the sites in your signature (which might not be yours) looks to be obviously selling reviews/links. Almost every post reads like a paid review. These types of sites have footprints that are easy to detect - no need to read anyone's mail. When google adjusts PR manually for selling links, it doesn't usually affect SERPS and wouldn't have anything to do with adsense.
thanks for the feedback. actually, my blog is the least of my worries. i don't display ads on that site, and most of the posts are for friends or me. 90% + i know PR isn't the end-all, be-all, but it's frustrating when "you're just cruising along minding your own business" and you get whacked for no APPARENT / OBVIOUS / LOGICAL reason. RE: GMAIL. my problem there is, that innocent discussions could be singled out by the "technology" as something it ISN'T. so, i'm slowly but surely leaving my GMAIL account behind. i spent 3 hours this morning changing email addresses. YIKES!!! THANKS AGAIN.
Tell me something, if you are earning more and your traffic is better, why worry about PR? Did you want to sell links on those sites? If the site is making you good money then I guess, there is no point of getting depressed about PR.
i understand what you're saying... i guess it's more like the "principle" of the matter. NONE OF IT REALLY MATTERS (i'm very lucky to have a great job teaching at college, a nice home and family), online is just a fun thing to do for me... but getting an "unfair" (at least in my eyes) SLAP is a bit of a pain. especially to ZERO. LOL