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Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension

blog.pushbullet.com

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Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension

#311

Post by danpalmer »

AmericanChopper wrote: post #303
andrewmutz wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. I think this practice could be seen as anti-developer, but it is pro-consumer.

The bit that improves user’s privacy is pro-consumer. The bit that removes user’s access to products is anti-consumer.

It's obviously a balance, but you could use that argument to allow any plugin on the store. It gives more choice.

I think it's important to remember that while PushBullet is known to many of us, is posting on Hacker News, is a valued part of "the community" in some respect, at Google scale this fact is not know. PushBullet is obviously good to _us_, and maybe just needs to tweak permissions a little, but to a reviewer at Google it probably looks very similar to the hundreds of extensions they may review a day, many of which may contain malware.

They have to use certain metrics to sort the good from the bad, and abuse of the permission system – intentional or not – is a pretty good one when you care about the end user.

Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension

#312

Post by Aperocky »

Baeocystin wrote: post #11

Another long-term PushBullet customer here. Anyone at Google who is listening- this kind of behavior kills my desire to continue using your products dead. I need functionality, of the type PushBullet has provided for years, to do my work. The recent nerfing of ublock origin has already had me feeling iffy on things. Behavior like this is simply unacceptable. If you want people to use your services, you need to have s…

> this kind of behavior kills my desire to continue using your products dead

Having already moved to firefox for over a year since quantum came out, what are you waiting for?

Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension

#313

Post by donatzsky »

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #157
patwalls wrote: post #18

Chrome extension developer here. Google ripped my Chrome extension off the app store about a month ago. I got a similar cryptic message, and then I scrambled to fix it, like you're doing now. Somehow my extension reappeared the next day. Email me pat [at] trypigeon [dot] co and I can send you some of the things I did that maybe have helped. Tweeting my support as well: https://twitter.com/thepatwalls/status/126063896…

I have written about this recently on the Android side. https://medium.com/@lazherrera/that-one-time-google-made-it-... If you use any of the words related to the COVID-19 pandemic, they will pull your app, suspend you and ding your account.

"Sign in to view this draft" :/

Seems like you hit the wrong button or something, when trying to publish it.

Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension

#314

Post by saltedonion »

I too have deGoogled as much as I can, but I’m hesitant to jump on the hate wagon for this one.

Consider the counter factual - what if google was highly specific about the changes required? Clarifing the boundaries of what’s allow is prone to abuse. This is the same reason why the search algorithms are not explicitly published, but only the spirit is explained.

I would say this is the best solution when there are no perfect solutions.

Perhaps the 14 day period could be longer, but that’s another point of contention.

Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension

#315

Post by Aperocky »

danpalmer wrote: post #53

As much as we can criticise Google's handling of this situation, the fact that the developer was able to reduce permissions from accessing data on _all websites_ down to _their website_, as well as tighten up a few other permissions, shows that Google is correct that the extension is asking for more than it needs. I hope the developer finds another load of permissions they can tighten up, resubmits, and is approved.…

I disagree with you here because:

   1. The article contains more relevant information that you did not show in your point.

   2. Those relevant information made your point void

   3. I think your point make no sense on the relevant information.
There, I refuted your claim, you have 14 days to change it and show what you learned.

Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension

#316

Post by DavideNL »

bcrosby95 wrote: post #105
jtxx wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ProtonMail has come a long way as a replacement for Gmail as well. Suuuper happy with them, they're really responsive to feature requests and support inquiries. I requested for an iOS feature to choose browsers so I could open all links from PM in Firefox. They had it implemented in a month or something... it a quick fix but that impressed me. hence me shilling here They recently added ProtonCalendar too.

Switching email isn't nearly as friction-free as switching your browser. Not only do you have to change your email in every service you've registered for, you also need to convince your friends and other contacts to use the new email.

You don't have to switch overnight, i simply forwarded all my incoming Gmail e-mails to my new account, and then reply to all my Friends (etc.) from my NEW e-mail address. That way they will all, eventually, automagically update me in their address book. It worked very well :)

Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension

#317

Post by lostcolony »

londons_explore wrote: post #266
lostcolony wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except for those of us who are finding out about it only via a Hacker News comment. As happened with this user, who seems, you know, sufficiently a power user to need that info. Even a "if you know this site to be safe, please read this knowledge base article (link)" and buried in that, amidst all the reasons you shouldn't use untrusted certs, are the instructions.

If you keep up to date with commits on the chromium code repo, you'd see them change it from time to time. For a while it was 'youshallnotpass'. You probably shouldn't be using an opensource project without at least a cursory glance at the code anyway, especially as a power user.

You're kidding right? You look at every commit of every open source app you use, or that a closed source app is built atop? For me, off the top of my head, that would mean, yes, Chrome, Firefox, the Linux Kernel, Libre Office, Android, VLC...probably plenty more that I am unaware are open source, and that's not even considering the dev tools to do my job. When would I actually have time to have a life?

Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension

#318

Post by makapuf »

londons_explore wrote: post #266
lostcolony wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except for those of us who are finding out about it only via a Hacker News comment. As happened with this user, who seems, you know, sufficiently a power user to need that info. Even a "if you know this site to be safe, please read this knowledge base article (link)" and buried in that, amidst all the reasons you shouldn't use untrusted certs, are the instructions.

If you keep up to date with commits on the chromium code repo, you'd see them change it from time to time. For a while it was 'youshallnotpass'. You probably shouldn't be using an opensource project without at least a cursory glance at the code anyway, especially as a power user.

Im not sure a cursory glance at the 25 millions lines of code will do much if you dont already know what to search.

Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension

#319

Post by dilandau »

seanwilson wrote: post #84

For people focusing their comments on this particular extension + the permissions it asks for, please take a quick look at the numerous recent posts in the official forum for Chrome extension developers to see it's not an isolated issue: https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/forum/#!forum/chrom... It's a systematic issue that isn't specific to anything Pushbullet is doing and it's been like this before the pandemi…

>We hear you and are eagerly looking to improve things.

Joking aside, isn't this just what people should come to expect from the company that has always tried to normalize the "no support and no service" model?

If these antics start causing GOOG to lose share in the browser market then they may review these policies, but I highly doubt it. At the end of the day GOOG is an ad company and publicly-traded at that. They have a bottom-line and a lot of shareholders watching it.

Support channels/forums are probably not the way to go, in other words. Stop using their browser, stop using their search. That's probably the only way they will be incentivized to change.

Re: Let's guess what Google requires in 14 days or they kill our extension

#320

Post by pbhjpbhj »

JTbane wrote: post #30
syshum wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While Firefox is better than Chrome... Mozilla is becoming more and more Google Like as time progresses, where a few years ago I would have believed it would be unthinkable for Mozilla do so something like this to an extension, today I am not so sure I would trust them either

Mozilla doesn't have the conflict of interest google does with ads... That alone makes me use Firefox over Chrome.

Doesn't Mozilla get nearly all its money from Google; I've assumed that actions by Mozilla have been coloured by not wanting to ditch its multi-hundred-million dollar benefactor.

Google has apparently paid Mitchell Baker personally multiple millions of dollars too.

Seems Google know how to manage their risks.

Mozilla seem perhaps even more beholden to ad revenue than Google.

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