When Matt was head of the spam team at Google, I turned in a lot of possible search engine spam. I'd even show how the spam was done...even though I'm sure Matt & his team could figure it out.
Well, Matt made me a Google Spam Deputy because I was diligent. He even showed a slide with my name on it at 1 or 2 conferences.
Some SEO pros might not like that I continue to be a Spam Deputy. No one likes bad or inaccurate search results...especially when shopping for your Mom's & Dad's birthdays...or for adorable nieces & nephews. Search engine spam can be awful during fragile times, such as the loss of a loved one.
Then I learned that Matt & I attended graduate-level LIS (Library & Information Sciences) programs at about the same time. Of course, we're both information scientists. So was a dear colleague, Eric Ward. Great minds....
Matt's a kind, smart man. I think we are all fortunate to have him as a colleague & friend.