epe

Seems like classic Hawthorne effect...

I don't know if it's any simpler, but I tend to do:

    git init .
    git remote add origin git://github.com/eentzel/dotfiles.git
    git checkout -t origin master

Apparently it's managed to destroy even the minimal level of talent needed to construct a readable PNG.

Agreed that the web doesn't have any "magical properties", but it has the "Worse is Better" survival characteristic; or at least it did in its early days. I think the web's continued dominance depends on the extent to which it retains those characteristics.

I think the snake-oil nature of (much of) SEO stems from the fact that it's difficult or impossible to measure in an accurate, unambiguous way. Since A/B testing includes measurement by its very nature, I suspect it will be more resistant to snake oil.

Wouldn't simply excluding any http request whose user agent contains "googlebot" from the displayed count make it dramatically more accurate without needing a switch to JS-based analytics?