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Ebay allows search engines to index and cache all parts of its site except the help pages for "Rules and Policies" and "Online Security and Protection"

Why wouldn't it want these specific pages to be in Google Cache?  Does it sneak in changes to the wording of its policies without notifying its members?  :twistedevil:

Ebay's removal of BidPay as an accepted payment method without notifying members is an example of where blocking search spiders from caching policy pages could come in handy.

http://www.ebay.com/robots.txt

Quote:### BEGIN FILE ###
#
# allow-all
#
#
# The use of robots or other automated means to access the eBay site
# without the express permission of eBay is strictly prohibited.
# Notwithstanding the foregoing, eBay may permit automated access to
# access certain eBay pages but soley for the limited purpose of
# including content in publicly available search engines. Any other
# use of robots or failure to obey the robots exclusion standards set
# forth at is strictly
# prohibited.
#

User-agent: *
Disallow: /help/confidence/
Disallow: /help/policies/
Disallow: /disney/

### END FILE ###

By contrast, Overstock doesn't block search spiders from any pages on its site:

Quote:User-Agent: *
Disallow:

Quote:Why wouldn't it want these specific pages to be in Google Cache?

To cover its ass ->    because eBay has been known to change the wording or "official" interpretation of policies without notifying users, and many times the way eBay is currently interpreting a policy isn't the way that is listed on the 500+ pages of policy/security help pages on its site.

Why Doesn't Ebay Want Its Policy Help Pages Cached by Search Engines?

Because they're LSOSB.
Or was that a rhetorical question?