The other day I reported that Microsoft Live Search Link Command Operator Offline. You can not longer use the link:, linkdomain: and inurl: operators at Microsoft's Live Search.

It is official, Microsoft has informed us that they removed it because of "mass automated usage." As I reported at Search Engine Land less than an hour ago, I believe "this is a sign that Microsoft is working on a webmaster tools section, similar to what Google has with Webmaster Central and what Yahoo has with Site Explorer."

We are doing our best to get this back online as soon as possible in a manner that allows folks that use this functionality for real queries. We have a few good ideas up our sleeve on how to enable this, but want to make sure we are making the right changes that will give you the functionality you want and all of our customers the experience they deserve. Our apologies and thank you for being patient. Keep an eye on our blog for updates.

The question is how soon will webmasters be without this command from Live Search? And how much of it will change?

Forum discussion continued at WebmasterWorld & DigitalPoint Forums.

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