Yahoo! 'handicaps' its search ad auctions

Search ad systems such as Google's AdWords and Yahoo! Search Marketing are billed as auctions. But the line between auction and non-auction is more blurred than the average netizen might think. According to Yahoo!'s chief economist, Preston McAfee, the company is "handicapping" its auctions using an algorithmic method it calls …

[John Tserkezis]

Don't see that flying for long

I recall some car game on an early archade system for two players, that penalised the faster car, giving a chance to the, ahem, loser.

That's not how real life works. In real life, if you make an error, you wear that error, and hope the leading car makes an equally stupid error. Otherwise, you lose, plain and simple.

This yahoo method will ensure one thing and one thing only. The crap that doesn't sell (presumably because it's crap) will now sell.

This is not a good thing.

[Anonymous Coward]

<can't think of a title>

Need for Speed Carbon does it, you get some little buzzy compact buzzing past a GT40 and things, it's ridiculous, however well you do it's only just good enough.

I don't play it any more, it's boring

[King Edward I]

Was it called...

Mario Kart by any chance? :P

[Anonymous Coward]

ad-block is now part of the default Firefox install

What happens when a future Firefox update includes adblock+? Other than it taking longer to hit your bandwidth caps.