[Python-Dev] Python sidebar for Mozilla/Netscape

[Skip Montanaro]

    Guido> I don't think so -- the google.py code doesn't read the Google
    Guido> output, it tells your browser to read it.  Big difference.
    Guido> (urlopen(), on the other hand, would be a no-no.)

Correct.  I think they want to avoid automated systems that tweak a webpage,
see how placement is affected, tweak it again, etc.  Also, if you notice
their links, they redirect through Google itself:

    http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=1&q=http://www.python.org/&e=921

(I don't think they used to do this, but I'm not certain.)  I'm sure they
use click frequency as a component of their relevance algorithm.  A program
running through those links would adversely affect their scoring algorithm.

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