We have to stop being naive about our email accounts. My recommendation is to buy a domain name use that as the primary email. It may cost in total around $100/year but it is definitely worth it.
I hear clintonemail.com is available
Don’t Mess with The Google
51–60 of 504 posts
Re: Don’t Mess with The Google
#52Slightly OT: Is there something funny going on with this post? 1 hour, 103 points and it's already at the bottom of HN?
Re: Don’t Mess with The Google
#53TL;DR: At least 200 people participated in a scheme in which they purchased (multiple) Pixel phones and had them shipped to a dealer in NH for resale to others, in contravention of the Google ToS. In response, Google suspended all their accounts, without the option to download any their stuff, including email and drive data, etc.
My response to Google deleting peoples email accounts. Google deletes artist’s blog, a decade of his work: This makes me laugh my ass off. This is a bit of a pet peeve I have with people and modern technology. They believe they have a right to use a service even though they're not paying for the usage of the service. Then they turn around shocked and angry when the free service is removed. `Why! why did they do this…
Someone losing a decade of work makes you laugh your ass off?
Re: Don’t Mess with The Google
#54This really seems like it needs to be regulated in law. For telephone companies, there are rules about when they may disconnect you, e.g. the Arizona Utilities Division write > f I am unable to pay my entire bill, what can I do to maintain local dial tone? > The Arizona Administrative Code specifically states that a telephone company may not disconnect a customer for failure to pay an unregulated portion of their bil…
Opinions about regarding Google as a utility aside, I think the comparison this argument makes isn't as comparable as you make it sound. Using your example with telephone companies, this situation is like saying a specific 3rd party service accessed via telephone should be regulated without actually regulating the telephone companies first. I would like to see ISPs be regulated as a utility before individual web sites are regulated as such.
In the event that becomes reality, the time would have to be taken to define what minimum level of services the web site would have to offer. Simply saying Google must keep X service available would be archaic. Would other email providers be exempt from having to maintain these rights? If your job gave you an email address, would they have to maintain it after you leave the company? These are probably contrived questions, but ones that would certainly have to be answered first.
Re: Don’t Mess with The Google
#55TL;DR: At least 200 people participated in a scheme in which they purchased (multiple) Pixel phones and had them shipped to a dealer in NH for resale to others, in contravention of the Google ToS. In response, Google suspended all their accounts, without the option to download any their stuff, including email and drive data, etc.
My response to Google deleting peoples email accounts. Google deletes artist’s blog, a decade of his work: This makes me laugh my ass off. This is a bit of a pet peeve I have with people and modern technology. They believe they have a right to use a service even though they're not paying for the usage of the service. Then they turn around shocked and angry when the free service is removed. `Why! why did they do this…
The guy you're laughing at is about 65 years old. I know nothing about Dennis Cooper, but people of that age are sometimes just not tech savvy. And based on what I've seen of his response to the situation, he never responded in the way you mischaracterized him above. Why is your first response to "laugh your ass off" when something unfortunate happens to someone else, even if that misfortune was brought about by their own ignorance?
Take a look here, his response is actually very thoughtful:
https://www.pixartprinting.co.uk/blog/dennis-cooper-erased-b...
Re: Don’t Mess with The Google
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
What if your landlord cut off access to your apartment, and everything inside, because you happened to have 3 guests visit and stay with you this month, instead of the 2 allowed by the lease? Would that be okay with you? And that wouldn't even be as bad as this, because a lease is a far more legally applicable document unlike TOS's which no one reads. Further, at least your violation there is related to your apartmen…
A. Landlords can most certainly terminate your lease because of that. They can't throw you out immediately because of tenant protection laws, and they have to let you get your belongings once you're evicted. B. ToS are just as legally binding as a lease (provided they are presented in the right manner, which is how Google presents them). No one cares of you actually read them or not. As soon as you check the box that…
Are you seriously trying to argue the current ToS situation is reasonable? Seriously?
Re: Don’t Mess with The Google
#57Anyone have any good links on how to host your own email with spam blocking and such?
Re: Don’t Mess with The Google
#58This is precisely why use (and pay) a variety of providers for my services. No single point of failure AND I am directly a customer.
Re: Don’t Mess with The Google
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Only speaking for myself, but I'm put off because Google is punishing its users with a digital death sentence because they sold a phone that was originally bought from Google at full retail price . Yes, it's against the service agreement for the Fi phone service, but at most Google should only be allowed to suspend the user's Fi account, not irretrievably delete their entire Google identity. It's retaliation and puni…
It's not retaliation or punishment. It's process. At the end of the day, rules were broken. If you can't handle the repercussions then don't break the rules. Pretty simple.
Yes, Google is within their rights, but that doesn't change that this is a dick move. Personally this is just the impetus I needed to leave gmail.
Re: Don’t Mess with The Google
#60Slightly OT: Is there something funny going on with this post? 1 hour, 103 points and it's already at the bottom of HN?
User flags burying the story most likely. Happens frequently when problems such as these are due to "their own damned fault."