I think making
the pages available in high-ranking Google
results is more than 'transparency', it's shouting out to
the world.
Google's rankings are Google's responsibility. Wikipedia has never
worried about search engine rankings, we just do what we think best
and let the search engines do what they think best. Fortunately, those
generally coincide, so Wikipedia has very high rankings, but we don't
make any special effort to achieve those rankings. We also don't make
any special effort to get rid of them.
This appears to be sound reasoning. Basing
our activity on "What does
Google think?" is a cyber-equivalent to letting your home decisions be
guided by what the neighbours think. It relinquishes control to outside
elements who have no vested interest in your efforts.
Ec