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It appears my Google account is slated for deletion

alexaobrien.com

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Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion

#141

Post by carlmr »

KGIII wrote: post #120
cptskippy wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By and large I think people's desire for raw data has grown from a mistrust of the News stemming from the move away from reporting towards commentary and hidden agenda. Once upon a Time you could mostly trust the news but these days we have "no spin zones" which are in fact entirely spin. You can no longer sit back and consume news, to get the real facts requires a great deal of effort and attention which is exhausti…

You might wish to look into the history of journalism. I've written about this before, but there really wasn't a golden age of journalism. This doesn't mean good journalism didn't exist, just that there have always been biased sources. Head to your local library and hit the archives. From yellow journalism to papers owned by political parties, bias and dishonesty has always been a problem.

Correct, it's just more apparent in the information age, when the raw data can sometimes be found and the bias shown.

Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion

#142

Post by cm2187 »

jdietrich wrote: post #55
gavanwoolery wrote: post #5

Normally 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.

> I wonder who is really pulling the strings here With 99.9% confidence, I'm saying an algorithm. It isn't unusual for a company to automatically delete accounts that seriously breach their ToCs; the unique problem with Google is that their ecosystem is so large and pervasive.

Blame the code, don't blame the programmer!

Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion

#143

Post by andy_ppp »

I hope any Googlers here are attempting to help internally and at the very least 1) not to destroy all of her work 2) allow her to publish controversial things because of the context.

As for my opinion I think this is horrendous, that Stallman is right and that Google and it’s staff should be ashamed at this attempt to destroy deep and important journalistic work. It’s hardly like it’s not in character.

I will now attempt to not use Google services which is going to be a challenge.

Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion

#144

Post by rphlx »

taurath wrote: post #99
blfr wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Above being more than a legal concept, it's also not really about expression, ie. the biggest value to society is not from Alexa O'Brien being able to express her thoughts and feelings, which is a minor benefit to her, but in us being able to read them and then choose the best ideas to adapt/copy/implement. The fact that you can make your (realistically, very tiny) contribution to the culture is much less important t…

The cynical side of me thinks that a society with no control over (certain) information is one which is more vulnerable to control by bad actors. We have more of a filtering problem than an access problem at the moment - there's too much information to support all beliefs so people are more likely to become entrenched in whatever they do believe.

> a society with no control over (certain) information is one which is more vulnerable to control by bad actors.

Centralized (state and/or corporate) control over information is itself an incredible asset to bad actors. Goebbels et al..

Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion

#145

Post by honestoHeminway »

KGIII wrote: post #118
wallace_f wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, younger generations are being brain washed, unfortunately, to believe in an un-American authoritarian view on speech. I agree with you. If you dont believe in free speech for those you disagree with, then you don't believe in free speech at all.

I literally defend literal Nazis. The Nazis hate me but they actually seem slightly less hyperbolic than those who dislike that I defend their basic human rights. The White Nationalists tell me they'd kick me out of the country, which is funny because I'm mostly Native American. The others (I don't have a name for them) tell me that I don't even have a right to support their right to free expression. I'd rather be to…

The internet did the worst thing one can do to a government. It proofed for 15 long years, that it is not needed - and things can be solved without all the kings men.

Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion

#146

Post by tezza »

sorry to hear your predicament. sadly there is more of this type of thing in the pipeline and it is time to stop using google provided services

1) migrate videos to LiveLeak.com

2) migrate email services somewhere else.

i don't have a specific recommendation, perhaps some other HNer would proffer a solid choice

Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion

#148

Post by shevy »

KGIII wrote: post #7

Well, 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…

> Google has every right, legally, to delete this stuff.

Please quit defending censorship.

Thank you.

Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion

#149

Post by AstralStorm »

maccard wrote: post #139
KGIII wrote: post #7

Well, 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…

To play devils advocate - are you ok with YouTube brings discovery and hosting platform for extreme Islam propaganda, or neo nazi/far right? Or what about less extreme content deliberately designed to mislead and draw attention to an issue (see the constant barrage of lies published in tabloid newspapers directed at certain hot topics, ranging from slightly misleading to downright lies). I also don't see what the ISO…

Your comment has been deemed as recommending fascism by an automated algorithm. /s (which is so complex even Google doesn't know how it works)

There isn't anything in this world that is not political. Everything is to a varying degree.

Re: It appears my Google account is slated for deletion

#150

Post by shevy »

rphlx wrote: post #144
taurath wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cynical side of me thinks that a society with no control over (certain) information is one which is more vulnerable to control by bad actors. We have more of a filtering problem than an access problem at the moment - there's too much information to support all beliefs so people are more likely to become entrenched in whatever they do believe.

> a society with no control over (certain) information is one which is more vulnerable to control by bad actors. Centralized (state and/or corporate) control over information is itself an incredible asset to bad actors. Goebbels et al..

Very true.

But it gets even worse when you look at lobbyists paid by corporations.

In the long run, Google will have to be split up into smaller pieces. You can't control this evil - and greedy -corporation otherwise anymore.

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