Google Bans Ads For Essay-Writing Services

llamapalooza writes "Google announced that it will ban essay writing firms from advertising on their site. (The prevalence of cheating on campuses has been discussed here before.) While universities have welcomed the move, the affected firms are claiming it will 'punish legitimate businesses.' Google has specifically banned 'academic paper-writing services and the sale of pre-written essays, theses, and dissertations,' which now join other items on the banned list such as tobacco, drugs, weapons, and prostitution."

Re:Banned list?

[1u3hr]

Agreed. If I want it I should be able to search for it.

You can still search, and find whatever you want. What they're doing is not seving ads for these products when you search for a related term.

Don't Be Evil

[Nymz]

Is that "do no evil" or "Do KNOW EVIL!"? did anyone get this in writing or has this whole slogan thing been word of mouth?

Actually, it's "Don't be evil" from their CoC. [google.com] And I imagine their decision to refuse this type of advertising is, in their opinion, the lesser of two evils.

Re:Not keen on this

[franksands]

Please, pay attention: they are not blocking search results. They are blocking ads that consist of "essay writing".

Google 'contextual' ads

[codecracker007]

...one of the ads seen at the top of this story:

Custom Essay Writing
Professionally written essays and term papers delivered on time
CustomEssayWriting.com


irony meet your elder cousin...

Re:We faced the same dilemma at Uclue.com

[Anonymous Brave Guy]

We've had a similar problem on some technical Usenet groups where I help out, teaching beginners various programming-related subjects. Some posts are obviously asking us to do their homework. Most are obviously genuine questions. A few are harder to classify.

Our benchmark in the case of ambiguity is whether the person asking the question has demonstrated some effort of their own. For example, if a person posted some source code showing how far they'd got already, and then explained what it seemed to be doing, what they wanted it to do, and what the difference was, then generally plenty of people would come along and either point out their mistake or suggest a way forward. If the question was just stated without any accompanying code, then typically the poster would be invited to show what they've got already and identify where their problem is.

For similar reasons, we rarely post "final" code suitable for handing in unmodified, although one or two posters have been known to be deliberately evil to an obvious homework question, posting a simple-looking and technically correct answer that relied on advanced techniques no beginner would know. I imagine a few lazy students have handed those in without even reading them properly, and then faced some embarrassing questions about how the programs worked... <wicked grin>

Re:It's not illegal, though

[dunelin]

Actually in Massachusetts, it is illegal to sell papers like this:

• Mass. General Laws, Chapter 271, Section 50. Sale of research papers, etc. and taking of examinations for another at educational institutions. Whoever, alone or in concert with others, sells to another, or arranges for or assists in such sale for another, a theme, term paper, thesis or other paper or the written results of research, knowing or having reason to know that such theme, term paper, thesis or other paper or research results or substantial material therefrom will be submitted or used by some other person for academic credit and represented as the original work of such person at an educational institution in the commonwealth or elsewhere without proper attribution as to source, or whoever takes an examination for another at any educational institution in the commonwealth, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.

No weapons... are you sure?

[curecollector]

[...] which now join other items on the banned list such as tobacco, drugs, weapons, and prostitution.

http://www.google.com/search?q=grenades [google.com] - turns up an ad reading:


"Grenades
Looking for
grenades? Save!
www.shoppingpage.us"

(Now, I know that they're not actually selling grenades, but rather have a pile of ads based off of a list of generic words/terms, but it's pretty funny. "Landmines" used to turn up an Ebay ad reading "Looking for landmines?")

Re:Thank God!

[supercrisp]

I am a college teacher. I've seen those essays. Students send me CDs of essay collections. From what I've seen, they are only going to change the "curve," if there is such thing in your class as a weighted grade distribution, to your benefit. Most of the essays I've seen would earn nothing better than a C in my classes because they are so awful. Maybe there are better products out there, but probably not for $20

Medical point of view

[DrYak]

"Eat Prozac ! It will make you suicidal!!"
Personal experience FTW :)

Fluoxetin the ative stuff in Prozac, as well as other "selective seretonie-reuptake inhibitors", has a complex (and slow) dynamics.
Depression, in an oversimplified way, can be said to have 2 interesting characteristics : it makes one very negative. But it also removes most will power (the patient becomes apathic and doesn't do anything apart maybe occasionally complaining).
Again in an oversimplified way, SSRI-class drugs will have a faster effect on the apathy than on the mood. Thus there's a time-window during which the patient starts to act much, but still hates everything including himself and has a very negative self-image. As now, unlikely what was before, he *has* the willpower and can act more easily, there's a risk he may commit suicide.
Thus good follow-up is necessary. It's not a therapy someone attempts on his own decision, alone at home, without seeing a doctor.

This is one of the main reason I think drug advertising should be banned : drugs are complex stuff, and it should be the doctor's job to decide when to use what. Not the decision of the patient and people shouldn't be massively brainwashed by the drug corporation's propaganda. The patient's decision is only to ask for help and then to accept or decline what a doctor proposes.