Well, since you don't seem to believe me, here's the email I received from Google one day. Obviously, their interpretation is different than yours: Their intepretation is the one that matters. Trust me, I wouldn't have switched domains if I didn't have to...
Templates are easy to find. Just search for "free templates" or "web templates" in Google and you'll see a bunch, both in the listings and in the ads to the side of the search results. Some of them are completely free, some of them require you to link back to their site, some of them are for purchase. I know of people who spend $5 or $10 to get a new template and feel it's well worth it. Personally, I do my own, but that's just me and it's true that you can waste a lot of time developing your own template. Just keep the AdSense heat map in mind when looking for templates. You want to make sure you can place ads in the hot spots of the page. Not all templates accomodate that.
Hi Eric, Here is G's response to my email - "After viewing your domain and some of the pages in the domain and I can confirm that your current implementation is compliant with our program policies. Please note that you do not have the word "adsense" in your domain but only in some of the pages within your domain. For your reference, having the word "adsense" in some of your pages is not a violation of our program policies." So, it appears the key is "domain name", which I think is what Eric has been saying all along. I have the word Adsense in a few URLs (filenames), but NOT as part of the domain name. Makes sense to me. This sentence is bogus- "Please also note that publishers are not permitted to use Google Brand Features, which include Google trademarks, logos, web pages, screen shots, or other distinctive features on sites without prior consent from Google." This sentence is misleading and inaccurate. It applies to DOMAIN NAME only. It does NOT apply to file names in URLs, yet the implication is that it does. Very poor wording, which allows for misinterpretation. It says "to use", but does not specify where. Anyway, thanks Eric for helping to clear this up for me. I have confused domain name with URL, two different things.
Yeah, I was only talking about domain names, not any other use of their trademarks. That said, remember that the Terms and Conditions let Google do pretty much what they want at their discretion, so if they ask you to jump I guess you just say "how high?"
Eric, that statement of yours should be emblazoned someway on all those threads where people whine and gripe about google disabling their accounts or banning them. That said, remember that the Terms and Conditions let Google do pretty much what they want at their discretion, so if they ask you to jump I guess you just say "how high?" I got the same email some months back from google, and after emailing them, they set me straight on domain names (I have surfadsense.com) and sub-domains (okay to use say adsense.mydomain.com) and directories or pages.
These templates can work in therory if you modify them A LOT. Better yet just build your own. Its not that hard to do.