It appears my Google account is slated for deletion
alexaobrien.com
It appears my Google account is slated for deletion
1–10 of 278 posts
Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion
#2In a lot of ways this kind of stuff is what we were warned about by many including the FSF. Cloud software you don't control, or which knows a lot about you, can be used to censor you.
Always better to self-host and backup/distribute via the cloud as a secondary method. Easier said than done though.
Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion
#3Help me understand-
Alexa O'Brien has a Youtube account with many hours of video.
She also has a google account, drive, etc.
Some of her videos contained material that Google (being Google), didn't like.
Despite the fact that it was all very important journalism, Google arbitrarily decided it was #extremism, therefore #banned.
I would say that 5 years ago I would have been shocked and outraged, but lately I just absolutely am not surprised by Google anymore.
I hope Alexa kept local copies but I'm imagining maybe she didn't. At the very least she is losing all of the views and PR associated with her channel.
If you do have local copies, please try to publish elsewhere!
Google is on a crusade to demonitize any video it doesn't like, so it can keep dwindling ad money flowing to only the people it chooses.
Good luck, how can we help??
Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion
#4Someone's gotta do something about Google.
While they can't be responsible for someone putting all their eggs in the same basket, their terrible customer support policies can really ruin someone's work beyond repair.
Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion
#5Normally I try to rule out conspiracy theories, but this one is pretty interesting. A video being removed I could understand, but deleting an entire Google account seems like a rather extreme measure, and I wonder who is really pulling the strings here. I could certainly think of motives for doing so.
Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion
#6In a lot of ways this kind of stuff is what we were warned about by many including the FSF. Cloud software you don't control, or which knows a lot about you, can be used to censor you. Always better to self-host and backup/distribute via the cloud as a secondary method. Easier said than done though.
> Easier said than done though.
Not by much, once you understand the consequences.
Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion
#7Well, she is easier to defend than Nazis. So, here I go...
Freedom of expression, not just free speech the legal concept, should be a societal goal. Google has every right, legally, to delete this stuff. However, in an ideal world, they'd do no such thing and would let people judge based on the merits of the message.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd like to work towards that ideal world.
Maybe the solution is enabling people to realistically host content themselves, on their own property, and just ensuring the ISP is nothing but a dumb pipe? Maybe the solution is distributed content and P2P networks?
Either way, the continued aggressive censorship by Google, while their legal right, leaves a bad taste in my mouth. They can do it, but I don't have to like it.
That said, if anyone can think of something that I can do to help, I'm all ears.
Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion
#8This is Google being Google... They really need to improve their customer support processes; especially when people have so much stake in their products. Losing a Youtube account sucks, losing an entire Google account is the nail in the coffin.
Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion
#9CTRL + F "Disclaimer: I work at Google"
Funny how that never comes up on these threads. I get it you can't discredit your employer. Even at Google.
Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion
#10Terabyte drives are very cheap. Since it's borderline stupid, to simply upload this volume of work to some third party service without backup, I have no sympathy or technical concern. This being an illustration of Google's terrible "progressively tyrannical" track record, the article is badly titled. More like Google the Oppressor of Truth. Good Luck to Alexa.