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Gmail: Trap my contacts now (warning when exporting contacts to Facebook)

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Re: Gmail: Trap my contacts now (warning when exporting contacts to Facebook)

#41

Post by joakin »

reledi wrote: post #40
joakin wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't get it wrong, facebook it's not protecting you against anything, they are just monopolizing your relationships so that you won't move on with ease to other services.

Google is trying to monopolize your relationships (i.e. they give you an option while advising which option you should take), while pointing out that Facebook is monopolizing your relationships. They're taking different paths to reach the same end.

Agreed, but at least on google you can export your data.

Re: Gmail: Trap my contacts now (warning when exporting contacts to Facebook)

#42

Post by alex_c »

trevelyan wrote: post #24
moxiemk1 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook has, I assume, the ability to discern me from an app, and so easily could give me a way to export my friends contact information made visible to me while simultaneously not giving it to Farmville.

Why should anyone consider it reasonable to insist that someone else needs to create an API that selectively differentiates between users based on arbitrary and easily spoofed technical criteria? This makes no sense. It is expensive technically and expensive in terms of the development time and effort needed to maintain it. Not to mention easily fooled. Google is keeping its data export open because it's providing an…

>Why should anyone consider it reasonable to insist that someone else needs to create an API that selectively differentiates between users based on arbitrary and easily spoofed technical criteria? This makes no sense. It is expensive technically and expensive in terms of the development time and effort needed to maintain it. Not to mention easily fooled.

What?

The distinction between apps and users is already very clear at every level in Facebook. I don't understand what technical issues you're talking about.

This could be an issue for people who blindly accept spam friend requests, but not for apps. Just because users get an export function doesn't automatically mean apps do as well, unless Facebook specifically implements it.

Re: Gmail: Trap my contacts now (warning when exporting contacts to Facebook)

#43

Post by dsplittgerber »

stuartloxton wrote: post #38
dsplittgerber wrote: post #36

It allegedly registered my complaint without me being logged-in, so whatever they do, it's for show only? This reeks of a cheap shot.

Just because your not signed in doesn't mean it can't register a complaint - by not tracking username or personal details with the complaint the point of being signed in is reduced to nothing. They can't even make sure you do it twice without tracking your user ID (which they won't do because they could then get username or password). Therefore being able to register a complaint not signed in seems odd but fine.

That's the whole point I was making. When it doesn't register username or any kind of identifiable information, it just counts 'votes', which doesn't amount to anything, as in the end it's just an arbitrary number open to manipulations.

What do they want to achieve by having the user click a button just to feel good?

Re: Gmail: Trap my contacts now (warning when exporting contacts to Facebook)

#44

Post by sudonim »

daten wrote: post #28
cpr wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you can't get your "friends"' email info out.

There are several apps like this one that claim to export your friends and email address to CSV format. http://apps.facebook.com/friendstocsv/

I didn't try it, but looking at the comments, it won't export email addresses

http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=32853197098&...

Re: Gmail: Trap my contacts now (warning when exporting contacts to Facebook)

#45

Post by roll »

NolF wrote: post #31
nkassis wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook to my knowledge does not let you export your friends email addresses in a way that they could be synced with your email service. I think that if they did, it would be beneficial to everyone. Their claim that email addresses are private is bogus. They could add buttons to the privacy settings that would allow a user to block their email from being access by friends. There is no valid, as in non anti competiti…

There already is an option not to show your email to friends. Just set the email field to 'Only Me'.

It does not apply to export, only allows or forbids display your email to your "friend"

Re: Gmail: Trap my contacts now (warning when exporting contacts to Facebook)

#46

Post by alain94040 »

What bothers me is that Google is taking the stance that they have the right to lock my data in their service if they feel like it.

That's why that position, to me, is untenable. Don't do evil indeed: you just conceded the other side (Facebook) their main argument (that they don't have to be open, only if they feel like it).

Re: Gmail: Trap my contacts now (warning when exporting contacts to Facebook)

#47

Post by mquander »

alain94040 wrote: post #46

What bothers me is that Google is taking the stance that they have the right to lock my data in their service if they feel like it. That's why that position, to me, is untenable. Don't do evil indeed: you just conceded the other side (Facebook) their main argument (that they don't have to be open, only if they feel like it).

In what way is Google taking that stance? Last I checked, Google was taking the exactly opposite stance.

http://www.dataliberation.org/

Re: Gmail: Trap my contacts now (warning when exporting contacts to Facebook)

#48

Post by ck2 »

I approve a warning 1000% - it's not like they are stopping you from exporting.

This will slow down my AOL-using friends who gave away all their contact info to Facebook and now I get pelted with spam from Facebook using my name and list of friends (and I don't even have a Facebook account).

Google has never spammed me or share my name and location, Facebook does it all the time, pick who's more evil.

Re: Gmail: Trap my contacts now (warning when exporting contacts to Facebook)

#49

Post by gizmomagico »

This is such bullshit.

A service that won't let me "get my contact information out"? Nice way to frame this in terms of "openness" too, apparently riding "open" for all it's worth with Android is not enough.

Can I just "get out" all of my personal information from Google? No? Isn't Google "open" enough to let me do it?

We think this is an important thing for you to know before you import your data there.

Did you also think it was super duper important with a cherry and smarmy bullshit on top to let me know before you gave Facebook my GMail contacts behind the scenes when I was registering there earlier this year?

No, and I was disgusted when Facebook started suggesting them for "friends" right away.

Re: Gmail: Trap my contacts now (warning when exporting contacts to Facebook)

#50

Post by floatingatoll »

dsplittgerber wrote: post #43
stuartloxton wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because your not signed in doesn't mean it can't register a complaint - by not tracking username or personal details with the complaint the point of being signed in is reduced to nothing. They can't even make sure you do it twice without tracking your user ID (which they won't do because they could then get username or password). Therefore being able to register a complaint not signed in seems odd but fine.

That's the whole point I was making. When it doesn't register username or any kind of identifiable information, it just counts 'votes', which doesn't amount to anything, as in the end it's just an arbitrary number open to manipulations. What do they want to achieve by having the user click a button just to feel good?

I think it would be short-sighted of Google to simply count votes without recording some sort of "authenticated" bit for later use.

Counting 'votes' provides useful data for Google internal decision-making.

Counting 'authenticated votes' provides useful data for Google to publish.

Lacking any information from Google, it is unclear whether this is just a "feel good" button or if it's an actual authenticated vote-counting system.

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