> they might donkey-punch you, but it was algorithmic and not manual.

This is not always the case. Look at the Rapgenius event. That was triggered by manual intervention.

>I bet MeFi could be fixed in a few months if they hired a real SEO expert, ie someone who understands the underlying ranking algos

There isn't anyone on the outside that truly understands them because they constantly adjust them to deal with abuse. It is possible that one of these adjustments killed MeFi and it wasn't a recent mistake on MeFi's part.