Mainstream media and 'do not crawl' requests

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hairy1

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#80736 3-Apr-2011 21:12

Hi all,

I have a touchy subject here and don't really know what the right answer is.

I have a mate who has an article about him in the mainstream media and this article (over 6 months old) is appearing in the google search results right below his business name. It contains some incorrect information and he is trying to move on with life.

Does anyone know if the mainstream media webmasters consider do not crawl requests? He is hesitant to contact them as he feels it may just stir up a hornets nest. He doesn't want the article removed from the web, just the google results.

Cheers, Matt.

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Talkiet

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#454917 3-Apr-2011 21:45

hairy1: Hi all,

I have a touchy subject here and don't really know what the right answer is.

I have a mate who has an article about him in the mainstream media and this article (over 6 months old) is appearing in the google search results right below his business name. It contains some incorrect information and he is trying to move on with life.

Does anyone know if the mainstream media webmasters consider do not crawl requests? He is hesitant to contact them as he feels it may just stir up a hornets nest. He doesn't want the article removed from the web, just the google results.

Cheers, Matt.

Honestly it would seem unlikely - if there's a non-zero chance that asking for the individual article not to be crawled would have any public interest, then the media will publish a new article about it.

I'm afraid the only thing he can do is to try and get a bunch more relevant sites mentioning him up and in the system so the older article loses it's current ranking.

I don't think it would be feasible to have a site create custom no not crawl rules, and it will attract more attention.

On top of all that, for goodness sake don't let anyone know his name - to many people the mere thought of censoring ANYTHING from the web (or just Google's results) is tantamount to a capital crime.

Wish there was a better answer.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are the product of my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

freitasm

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#454918 3-Apr-2011 21:50

Basically what he's saying is that if your friend's name leak, then people will think there's a reason behind him wanting to hide the article, and not necessarily because it contains incorrect information.

Not personal comment, since I don't know your friend, but all requests I've received to remove things from Geekzone to disappear from Google came from businesses and individuals who did not have enough reasons for the request, except for the old "people are talking bad stuff about me and I don't like it"...

Search for "Streisand Effect".

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hairy1

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#454926 3-Apr-2011 22:27

Thanks for the replies guys. I have been around GZ for long enough to know when something looks dodgy and after re-reading my original post it did sound dodgy!

The situation is not as bad as it sounds but the answer is pretty definitive. I was probably a bit naive to think that a no crawl request would be a simple process and could be an easy solution. Obviously not!

Cheers, Matt.

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freitasm

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#454927 3-Apr-2011 22:29

It would probably be easier on a small scale. I obliged a few requests when it was obvious the OP for example was just using the forums as a soapbox without many facts that could be checked. But I am not sure large publications would oblige...

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