General Zod

Popping into T.O. like I usually do every few months, I noticed that Google had decided to slap some evo/cre related links on the right sidebar? <a href="http://www.secral.info" target="_blank">An odd and apparently not evolution related blob of metaphysical jargon</a>, <a href="http://www.creationposter.com" target="_blank">another '50 Proofs For Creationism' site</a>, and <a href="http://www.anointed-one.net" target="_blank">another quote-mining creationist site</a>. These are their sponsored sites? Time to switch search engines...

Doubting Didymus

I believe google also have ties to the scientology institute. Dont hold me to that.

S2Focus

Those "sponsored links" that you see on the right-hand-side of the google page are billed to the advertiser on a "pay per click" basis. So it is in our interest to click on every "pay per click" anti-evolution ad that we come across. I know it ain't much, but anything that transfers money from the likes of "Anointed-one.com" to Google Inc. is fine by me!

So don't abandon Google -- instead, let Google help you nickel and dime those creation-science knuckleheads.

Valentine Pontifex

Google did not decide this, the advertisers--in this creationists did.

Sponsored links work by someone buying a keyword on a pay per click basis.

You click; the creationists pay.

I am sure there is some mechanism to prevent abuse, but you can certainly get them to pay once for each ad they place.

This sort of thing is likely to be common on any search engine that sells ads. Indeed this is merely a variant on what has been done for years.


And of course if you really wanted to you could set up your own sponsored links for any site you want. You would tell them the maximum you would want to pay and when and if that is reached your sponsored links cease.