LinkedIn is ignoring user settings • Hacker News Board

Re: LinkedIn is ignoring user settings

#71

Post by robinhood » Sun, Jan 14, 2018, 5:14 PM UTC

na85 wrote: post #68

robinhood wrote: post #43

I've hated Linkedin for years, but what's interesting is to understand why. I think it's a mix of - really, really bad UX resulting in an ugly product - the level of emptiness of the news feed, full of people talking about respectful bosses and good work condition while quoting Steve Jobs (oh, the irony) - seeing people becoming apparently more successful than me (if I have to be honest) - the level of intrusiveness…

What bothers me the most about LinkedIn is how vapid everyone seems to be. Everone has a job title like 'dynamic individual searching for creative opportunities' when they really mean unemployed. It's like a game where everyone pretends while simultaneously knowing that everyone else is pretending too.

I've long thought of an alternative, but I don't think we can do better than this actually, as people are, by nature, vapid, in the sense that they will always pretend to be someone they are not. I wish someone will create an alternative where, unlike Facebook, people don't feel miserable after visiting the site.

Re: LinkedIn is ignoring user settings

#72

Post by robinhood » Sun, Jan 14, 2018, 5:18 PM UTC

wslh wrote: post #19

I always think about LinkedIn as a "light scam". LinkedIn always pretended to help businesses and employees but indeed they don't do anything special to match people except for recruiters, which at the end it is enough with a search. To put it straight, it is not a Tinder for business. I tried many paid services like Ads, Premium, and API. They are subpar. I recruit better via Reddit than via LinkedIn, you can post i…

Let's give the power back to users. Please someone create an open source alternative, where everyone will contribute to do something good.

Wait. That was just a dream.

Re: LinkedIn is ignoring user settings

#73

Post by rdlecler1 » Sun, Jan 14, 2018, 5:19 PM UTC

chimen wrote: post #30

2 months ago I signed up for a 30 day trial to search for people to hire and then 140 eu/mo if I decide to continue using it. Of course I forgot to stop it (they were pretty quiet also) and they charged me 1400+ eu for a full year because...why not - no refunds (that's what their page says). I know, I know...should have read the whole shebang. Lost 1400 euros for something I didn't really use. I was about to pay for…

I always but a calendar note for this exact reason, except for one time I forgot to with Slingbox. No monthly receipt and it was only after looking at my bill several months later that I realized I was being quietly charged. If I’m being billed monthly, I should have a receipt sent to me every month. Shady tactics.

Re: LinkedIn is ignoring user settings

#74

Post by oneeyedpigeon » Sun, Jan 14, 2018, 5:21 PM UTC

frgtpsswrdlame wrote: post #70

IAmGraydon wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shady? You signed up for a trial, didn't ready the terms, didn't cancel, and they charged you as they said they would. How is that shady? They did exactly what they said they would. When you sign up for the free trial, it literally says right there on the checkout page "Total after free trial: ($99.95 x 12 months) $1,199.40". Beyond that, they email you 7 days before the trial ends to warn you.

The whole practice of free trials which seamlessly blend into paid service is shady imo. Not counting that they billed him for a whole year.

What's annoying is that it's difficult to be a 'good' company in this environment. Ours offers a completely free trial of our service, no obligation or sneaky practises whatsoever. It is what it says it is: a trial. Customers find it difficult to believe we're not going to stealth-charge them, even though we take no payment details, so there's no way we possibly could.

A trial that automatically turns into a paid subscription isn't a trial, it's a deferred subscription with an initial free period. Stop calling that a "trial".

Re: LinkedIn is ignoring user settings

#75

Post by denzil_correa » Sun, Jan 14, 2018, 5:27 PM UTC

chimen wrote: post #30

2 months ago I signed up for a 30 day trial to search for people to hire and then 140 eu/mo if I decide to continue using it. Of course I forgot to stop it (they were pretty quiet also) and they charged me 1400+ eu for a full year because...why not - no refunds (that's what their page says). I know, I know...should have read the whole shebang. Lost 1400 euros for something I didn't really use. I was about to pay for…

I think it's high time to reign this practice. All services should explicitly ask before extension. Some people may want to waive such a "request to continue" off but customers must explicitly sign such a waiver. In general, "continue without ask" is a highly unethical practice at the very least.

Re: LinkedIn is ignoring user settings

#76

Post by hungerstrike » Sun, Jan 14, 2018, 5:28 PM UTC

chimen wrote: post #30

2 months ago I signed up for a 30 day trial to search for people to hire and then 140 eu/mo if I decide to continue using it. Of course I forgot to stop it (they were pretty quiet also) and they charged me 1400+ eu for a full year because...why not - no refunds (that's what their page says). I know, I know...should have read the whole shebang. Lost 1400 euros for something I didn't really use. I was about to pay for…

Same thing with RocketLawyer. They got me for a whole year and never once sent me a receipt.

I called their customer service and the guy who answered was well prepared for the call because it must happen to them all the time. At least I got a six-month refund.

Re: LinkedIn is ignoring user settings

#77

Post by jdhn » Sun, Jan 14, 2018, 5:32 PM UTC

SilasX wrote: post #69

jdhn wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another UX guy here. Right after they did their redesign, I had an initial phone screen where the interviewer asked if I had a portfolio. I told them that it was on my Linkedin profile, and the interviewer said that he had looked there first, but couldn't find it. I knew that I had put it on there, so I went to LinkedIn to see if the recruiter had made a mistake.. About 2 minutes later, I figured out what had happene…

[deleted]

This was actually my first time seeing and using the new UI. I (wrongly) assumed that this person was using the old UI where the links were more prominent.

Re: LinkedIn is ignoring user settings

#78

Post by bitL » Sun, Jan 14, 2018, 5:34 PM UTC

LinkedIn is super buggy lately (6 months+); it might be one of those recent ones. Maybe they are transferring from their own tech to Azure, causing all kinds of fun happening?

Re: LinkedIn is ignoring user settings

#79

Post by pimmen » Sun, Jan 14, 2018, 5:34 PM UTC

NegativeLatency wrote: post #65

fartcannon wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was this before or after Microsoft bought them? It would be extremely unpleasant if that behavior was outwardly supported by Microsoft. Edit: 2 months ago! Microsoft needs to fix LinkedIn. They bought them 6 months ago, if they dont change this dark pattern behvaior, they appear to be sanctioning it.

I suspect management has set some revenue goals for LinkedIn. People who would otherwise act sensibly can talk themselves into some shady stuff when there's money and career advancement at stake.

And management always escapes the blame.

"Really? Automatic billing? For an entire year?! I never ordered any such thing, I just set up impossible revenue goals! Oh my cheese and whiskers!"

Re: LinkedIn is ignoring user settings

#80

Post by robin_reala » Sun, Jan 14, 2018, 5:39 PM UTC

astura wrote: post #40

IgorPartola wrote: post #6

I deleted my LinkedIn profile years ago. The amount of spam I was getting from them was ridiculous (the owner of the pizza joint next door wants to add you, etc.). The final straw was when someone pointed out to me that unless you keep it up to date, it reflects poorly on you. And I had no interest in doing that.

I've never had a LinkedIn account and I still get spam from them. The "so and so wants to connect with you on LinkedIn."

I used to just delete LinkedIn emails but started to hit unsubscribe on each email I got, one month after another. That lasted for 6 months before I flipped and said that this was the only warning I’d give that they’d be taken to court if they ever emailed me again. Not a single email since that point, so an internal blacklist must exist.