For the past couple of months, Google has been suppressing my website TruthBeKnown.com so that it doesn't come up in the search engine results. The reasons for this suppression are unclear. (Google is never clear about such things.)
In order to remedy this situation, I have completely gutted and redone my site, and have been patiently waiting for my site to be reinstated, to no avail. As it stands, no one can even find my site by doing a search on my name! The same thing occurs with numerous search terms that I continue to rank well with on Yahoo and MSN, whose policies appear to be more reasonable at this point and whose search results in this case are obviously much better at this time.
Since my site is certainly not in violation of Google's "Terms of Service," I have to wonder what this penalty is really about at this point. My website is an "old, trusted authority site" online for almost a decade, with thousands of inbound links, many of which are also from trusted authority sites, such as .edu. Is there some type of bias going on, or will Google finally stop suppressing my site so that their search engine results are more appropriate?
Whenever someone does a search on Google, there is a link at the bottom in a blue box that says "Dissatisfied? Help us improve." If one clicks on that link, a box will come up regarding the relevant search term, asking for a reason "why you were dissatisfied with the search results." There is also a space for a URL/link that one would expect to see when one searches for that term, such as http://www.truthbeknown.com
If one tries to do a search for "Acharya S" or "Truth Be Known," my site should come up at the top - which it used to before it was being suppressed. It may be that Google responds to these "dissatisfaction" comments, if one is inclined to make them. Perhaps the more (polite) comments Google receives, the more attention it pays to problems.
Every day this situation goes on is another day that people can't find my site or any of its many original articles.
As another example, my site used to rank no. 1 for "origins of christianity," which would get a person to http://www.truthbeknown.com/origins.htm It still ranks right up there on Yahoo, but in Google it's nowhere to be found.
Ditto with "quotes from the koran," which used to bring up http://www.truthbeknown.com/islamquotes.htm
There are many more examples like these. Again, obviously, my site is being deliberately suppressed by Google.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue. Hopefully this situation with Google can e resolved soon.
(FYI, last year Google suddenly de-indexed the entire TalkOrigins website because of a hacker issue. Fortunately, after much rabble-rousing Google reinstated the site.)
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40 comments:
I will do what I can. Love your site.
Jim
Acharya: Is Google still privately owned, or has Rupert Murdoch purchased it?
Murdoch is a hardcore Republican Neo Con "christian"..
Maybe this is why?
Thanks!
Someone else has this to add:
"Your site, Truthbeknown.com does come up first place on one of my favorite search engines, www.dogpile.com. It may be a good idea to let folks know about this, as it is just about as good as Google for searching. I do hope that Google fixes the problem though."
Thought you might like to see my comments to google:
>Why doesn't the TruthBeKnown.com site come up ??? There is some
fabulous information on that site that I refer to from time to time,
and I expect a well crafted google search to take me right to the page
I need when I need it. Like it normally does.
>This is very odd. I hope this is not some sort of site sabotage on
google's part due to your personal/political/religious views, because there is no place for such censorship on a search engine. If not, please find and fix the problem, as, like I said, I expect a well crafted search to take me to the page I need when I need it.
I can find the info on Yahoo....
Acharya - I meant to bring this up on your forum. I just noticed this a couple of weeks ago. I did a search with your name and your website, and it gave me all of these other sites that had linked yours instead of your site itself. I thought it rather bizarre.
Is there a good place to bring this complaint to Google?
Acharya - I meant to bring this up on your forum. I just noticed this a couple of weeks ago. I did a search with your name and your website, and it gave me all of these other sites that had linked yours instead of your site itself. I thought it rather bizarre.
Have you managed to contact any representative of Google?
Yes, it's bizarre. I did go to the Google groups and then did a huge site overhaul based on suggestions I received there. But, no Google representative provided any help whatsoever.
I mostly use Yahoo search and I've never liked Google search. So, I haven't noticed until you pointed it out and I went over to Google to see what you were talking about. You're right though, you are difficult to find on Google.
With Yahoo you come up first place, so I have no trouble, but I've also bookmarked you too. lol
marmalade: When you do a search on Google, if scroll down to the bottom of the search results page you will see another search box, and below that some text links.
One of text links says "Dissatisfied? Help us improve".
If you click on that link it opens a new page with a form which you can use to send a complaint to Google about their search results.
Fu(c)k Google will make sure you make it to the top in their search engine only if you are willing to pay $400 to $500 every month to get placed there. Now that you are selling books on your site you are expected to pay for this "service". So Google wants your MONEY! I know business people that sell items on the web and their Christmas sales were cut by 50% this year because Google removed them from the search engines!
Hey Acharia,
The same thing is happening on Myspace.., although you still seem to be coming up there.. for now.. :-)
I mysteriously disappeared from the google powered search engine about 3 months back, which also effected my rating in the standard google rating. Still to this day, my Myspace profile will not be listed in the google search engine..
The only thing I can even suggest why I was wiped from the myspace engine was that I have some new World Order / 2102 associated friends in my favourites list.. ???
Who knows.., but it coincided with that Neocon puppet Murdoch taking the reigns..
Coincidence .. ??
Good luck getting it sorted.. :-)
Yeah, I heard google likes to beat up the little guy over making money, all while they're raking it in themselves. how much is google worth? BILLIONS.
And they let all their buddies like Amazon make as much money as they want, without putting them in the dog house. Amazon comes up in the top all the time, and making money is what it's ALL about.
Just did a Google on your site today 12/26/07 @ 3:37 PM CST and it came up in the #1 slot in less that 3 seconds.
What search term did you use? And which site? truthbeknown.com does not come up with any relevant search, except for "truthbeknown.com" But not for "truthbeknown" or "truth be known" or "acharya s," etc.
You're right Acharya. I tried several variations including "truth be known" and "acharya s." and only got sites with refutations and arrow slinging. Boy, those Christians sure get heated up, don't they? Makes me wonder what else Google censors.
Tim
High Browse Books
I had noticed this sometime back.
typing "truthbeknown" in google did not bring up your website.
truthbeknown had to be typed dirctly into the search bar....
Don't you just love conspiracies. Has it not occurred to anyone that a lot of xtians may be (ab)using the "Dissatisfied? Help us improve" link to deliberately demote the importance of this sites rankings? Oh, that's right, this is just another conspiracy :-)
HI ACHARYA
JUST TYPED "TRUTHBEKNOWN.COM INTO GOOGLE AND IT CAME UP FIRST POSITION
SKEP
Yes, I know. That was never an issue. That's the only search term at this point that will bring up my site in the right place. As I stated in my blog and here in the comments, "acharya s" doesn't work, "truth be known" doesn't work - both of which should bring the site up in first place.
And, believe me, I know from my stats that Google has been suppressing my website for over two months. As I also have stated, on MANY search terms for which I used to rank in the top 10 or so, I no longer show up for the first five or more pages. My site is being suppressed. It is time for it to be released from the Google penalty box - please!
Everyone can help by following the suggestions here.
Thanks!
I googled "Acharya S" and after the Wikipedia entry, I got four entries that disagree with (and lie about) you and your positions.
"Answering Infidels" was one.
"Acharya S Refuted" was another.
"Disinformation: Acharya S and the Christ Conspiracy" was another.
"Challenging Acharya S and her Anti-God Rantings" was another.
Im suprised they didn't link "AwnsersinGenesis.org" or something.
Acharya, Ive taken some of your information into political chat rooms as I feel it pertains to the United States Middle Eastern policies, and have found almost professional-quality propagandists have come out of nowhere to use every dishonest argumentative tactic on earth to refute/slander/lie about them and you. Google is probably put under tremendous pressure by various groups to supress such things. There is an outright little info war going on behind the scenes and Wikipedia where articles are in contention and are rewritten constantly on various subjects almost nightly. From what Ive read, religious entries are fought over ferociously there.
A google search for "D M Murdoch" either didn't get you, or got sights that "refuted" you.
Note: In your research you will have to cross every "T" and dot every "i" or your detractors will seize on any "mistake" and use it to invalidate everything else you have written. Any claim that isn't 100% backed up beyond belief by almost photographic evidence will be used to discredit you.
If Google has reps you can speak to on the phone, it might be the most effective trek to get something done. It seems a "smearbund" has been aroused to silence you. The political and cultural establishment NEEDS fundamentalist Christianity and Judaism right now to support the middle eastern policies its pursuing. Non-believers aren't goint to be willing to risk world wars in the middle east for the sake of Israel, which the establishment is using as an excuse to push these military actions based on interpretations of the Bible's prophetic verses and books, therefore anyone who suggests the Bible isn't really "true" is going to be discredited at all costs. Its a shame.
I feel that you are an honest person reporting what you have found and genuinely believe to be true. You wouldn't believe the tactics Ive come across to slander you, Robert Price, religioustolerance.org, the "God Who Wasnt' There" movie, etc. Right now, "Rapture Reverends" are more a danger to this republic than anything else on earth as they support the groundswell of support for a jingoistic foreign policy that will ultimately put us with odds with the entire middle east and its much bigger future potential allies (like China, India, and Russia). Its imperitave people at least consider other options.
Yes, I'm aware that a bunch of calumny and mendacity appear when my name is googled. I am also aware of the atrocious libel being spread about my work around the net - thanks for being on the front lines, BTW.
You will encounter countless people who haven't read my work, but because my logical and rational premise is that the cherished gods and godmen of today are no less mythical than those of ancient Greece and Rome, people fly into rages and foam at the mouth with the most absurd and fallacious commentaries. Including the libel that I don't cite my sources, when, in fact, I meticulously cite practically every major point I make - and there are many such points.
Indeed, as you say, one needs to dot every "i" and cross every "t," and I do believe that I do.
I left my comment on the link at the bottom of Google's searh results page "Dissatisfied? Help us improve", and I hope that helps.... in my opinion, there is a whole group of religious fanatics who were using the same "Dissatisfied" function to complain about TruthBeKnown.com web site.... something to think about, it is sort of modern days inquisition, persecution.
Archarya, you have a robots.txt file that is disallowing indexing of your entire site. See http://www.truthbeknown.com/robots.txt and for more on robots.txt files see http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/appendix/notes.html#h-B.4.1.1
Thanks Adelle! I've never noticed the complaint function before. I'll have to start using it.
This isn't the first time where Google didn't show what I was looking for in the first few pages of results. I've always wondered what determines this, but part of me suspected it had something to do with money. Although, I wouldn't put it past some people to be using the complaint function to demote Acharya's ratings.
Thanks, David, but that robots texts is ONLY blocking the Wayback Machine, not the indexing of my entire website. And I just reloaded it yesterday, so it's not the problem.
The problem is that Google is suppressing my website.
You see, it says:
ia_archiver
That's the "Internet Archives," not Google or anyone else, that is being disallowed.
Thanks for the info about the Google complaint dept. I never noticed it before either. Another question got answered that I was going to ask about who owned Google. Fancy that! Murdoch vs Murdock...lol!
I will be writing as pleasant a complaint as I can muster.
YouTube has no problems with videos slamming Muslims, but it does with "Zionists". Frank Weltner at "Jew Watch" has had many of his videos removed from it. Here is the warning at his site:
Technical Difficulties Caused by Zionist Interference in Our Civil Rights Have Caused a Disruption in "Zionist News" Videos. Evidently, Only Zionists Have Rights to Communicate Inside the American Zionist Colony.
Since you undercut the layout of all these 3 major religons, someone has decided it is safer to undercut you than just merely censor "Anti-Zionists" or opposition to "Babble-worshippers". Murdoch is a Neo Con "Christian-Jew", just like Marx was a "Christian-turned athiest" JEW. It is always possible the owner would influence the general operation to skew things their way...but I'm not giving credence to that at this point.
Will try the complaint dept. option for now.
My understanding is that Google only cuts out webpages when they spam Google and/or Google spiders in order to bump their page ranking via "Search Engine Optimization" schemes.
See more here: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769
Google "claims" it doesn't support censorship, unless you are in China, but I have found some exceptions by poking around. http://www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?NoticeID=232
I'm not sure if this is all of the answers you were looking for but it may be a start.
There are many reasons why Google suppresses or penalizes sites, including "excessive linking," which means if you have hundreds of pages and you link to them, Google's bots will flag your site for spam. It's a Catch-22, however, because if you don't link to them, Google will never find them or index them. Also, if the pages you put the links on are too low in PR (3 and under) Google will not index them, or they will end up in the dreaded Google "supplemental index."
As I say, there are many other reasons, but my site is not violating any Terms of Service that I can detect, so it's time for Google to stop suppressing it.
Acharya S.,
You will also be displeased to learn, if you don't know it already, that the Christian apologists refer to you (and others) as a "CHRIST MYTHER".
Get it? They have labelled you with a new nomenclature that has a pseudo-clinical "sound".
To call someone a "CHRIST MYTHER" is an attempt to psychologically degrade the reputation of such person like a "Flat Earther" or "Holocaust-Denier", etc. A very un-Christian type of cheap shot.
You for instance, dont label Christians as "invisible-man-worshipers", etc.
Yes, I know.
Christians:
"Invisible-JEWISH-man-in-the-sky worshippers."
Note, it's not a Greek man in the sky, such as Hercules; or an Egyptian man in the sky, such as Osiris; or an Japanese woman in the sky, such as Amaterasu - they're all myths. Nope, only the Jewish guy is the real thing - Jews are the only people in the entire world who have no myths, and we believe everything they wrote in their Book, including that they and they alone have spoken and walked with God.
So, "Jewish Brainwashing Believers" would also be a good term.
Or, how about "Ridiculousness Believers?"
google may not be suppressing your site. they've gone to a different way of ranking sites. seo no longer works as well. you need back links and i think getting posted to social bookmarking sites also raises you up.
Thanks. My site's been online since 1995, with the domain since 1997 or 1998. I've got well over 4,000 backlinks.
Google is deliberately suppressing my website. The reason is unclear, but my site complies with the terms of service, so they need to stop suppressing it.
I found TruthBeKnown back in 2003 by using the keywords "Christ myth." I just tried it again and could find no reference to Acharya's work until page 6. However, my other favorite site -- http://www.pocm.info/ -- still comes up as number #2. For some reason, truthbeknown has been deranked. My hunch is that there is a simple technical explanation and that it's not part of a conspiracy, but you never know. Google has a highly secretive operations center near my house -- I would be willing to pay them a visit. It is in an industrial park near Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta -- ah ha, the secret is out!
Thanks, Goose. Yes, that's right, my site is being suppressed. Hey, if you can get someone's ear, go for it. Google is not a particularly cooperative company, from my experience, and they penalize people for absurd reasons, while other junk sites get a free ride.
In the meantime, did you know that that pocm site makes highly derogatory remarks about my work?
When I search "Christ myth" in Yahoo, you still get a good ranking, like always. No, I did not realize that POCM makes negative comments about your work. POCM and your site where the two I studied extensively four years ago when I decided to break out of my Christian enslavement. So, I haven't really read it thoroughly since then.
As for apologists using the term "Christ Mythers," this is just a last-ditch spin effort for those who see the writing on the wall.
Living in the heart of the Bible Belt I can tell you that conservative religionists smash every progressive initiative and they openly sleep with corporatists. There is a lot of money at stake in the religious-corporate establishment, so expect them to resist objectivity, reason, and truth to the very end. Like the website says "truth be known." People around were I live don't like truth -- they prefer yahoos like Glenn Beck who tell them what they want to hear.
Yes, that's right. It's only Google that is penalizing my site.
Obviously, it probably wouldn't hurt to let them know of your findings.
As regards the other site making disparaging remarks, it's probably yet another case of "professional jealousy." I encounter it much too frequently.
Google doesn't use the meta keywords, but creates a list of words from the content of your page.
I did a search for "acharya's enticing emporium", as that is a rather unique phrase, and your site didn't show up in any of the results.
This tells me that either 1) Google is suppressing your page, or 2) there is something about your page's HTML which is being rejected by the google engine.
The easiest way to determine if they are suppressing your page is to create another website, and place the exact same HTML on the main page, and then submit it to google for indexing.
Thanks. It's a site-wide suppression that's been going on for months, so submitting one page for testing probably won't work, especially since I deleted the entire site months ago.
If it's not a "hand job" at this point but is purely mechanical, I don't know what could be hanging it up. I've thought about the forum as well, since it has many outbounds links - but most forums do as well, and I can't see them being suppressed for that reason.
I suspect a hand job.
"It's a site-wide suppression that's been going on for months, so submitting one page for testing probably won't work"
If Google has blocked the domain name, then copying the HTML of a page to a different domain name would determine that.
In other words, of Google has instructed its search engine to block all results which have 'truthbeknown.com' as a domain, then you can test this theory by simply taking the main truthbeknown.com landing page (index.html or index.php) and place it on a domain which Google is not yet blocking.
So if you did this, and then searched for "acharya's enticing emporium", and the results show for the new test domain, but not truthbeknown.com, then you know that Google has blocked you at the domain name level.
However, if you do this and find that sometestdomain.com isn't showing up in the search results either, then it's likely bad HTML.
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