The following CSS hack is used by a lot of sites. I've read that Google punishes the web administrator by dumping the SERPs because this hack is most commonly used by spammers to place lots of hidden keywords off the screen.
HTML Code:
text-indent:-9999px;
Or this other one I've seen on Smashing Magazine.
HTML Code:
text-indent:-9999em;
And in a blog post comment I read that you could use the following, but it wouldn't be as good as the above two.
What are your views or practices to get that unsightly text off the screen without being penalized.