Mad Max - exactly correct - that thread over on WMW is talking about people that are running directories (not Link lists) that are scraping other directories for their content (like DMOZ for example).
And I totally agree with Google that they need to go away - there is no reason in this world for a site like that to exist - although Google does make some good money off the AdSense attached to those directories
Anyone that reacts to that type of thread to change their business plan for their own sites is insane - why mess with success