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Google users locked out after 15 years' use

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Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#622
post #599

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Your storage service isn't used for your primary identity/access management to your house, bank account, or utilities, and this is where your argument breaks down. If anything that strengthens my argument. > The vast majority of users out in the world use these free services because they don't know anything else, and nor would I expect them to. As pioneers we the technical community herded them at these push button…

> Half the world thinks Facebook IS the Internet. That was pretty much my point. Anyways, I think in a way we are saying the same thing. Keep fighting the good fight.

> That was pretty much my point.

It was, wasn't it. Heh.

I guess I'm basically saying that those folks bear at least some responsibility for their own ignorance. It's not like people haven't been trying to reach them and help them, eh?

> Anyways, I think in a way we are saying the same thing. Keep fighting the good fight.

Cheers! You too.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#623
post #359

Not completely related to personal accounts being banned, but something that happened to me recently: I started a side business with some friends during lockdown. We created an online store selling some hard-to-get long tail items, and almost instantly got some traction and growth thanks to Google Shopping. A month ago we received one of these generic automated mails that our account is banned and we were misrepresen…

https://console.developers.google.com/tos?id=androidpublishe...

Google Updated it's Terms of Service. On 3 Nov 2020

Please read terms of Api.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#624

A lot of comments about setting up your own domain but the cost is prohibitive to a lot a people: - 1 to $5 a month, sometimes per address. It does pile up. - no office suite of the level of google docs/office365 - need some basic know-how to do it - price could go down but then you have to learn about dkim, spf, etc. not your regular customers/consumers thing. Not even your regular HN reader/participant thing. edit:…

You are not wrong on some of your comments...which is why some time ago i set up a single-person account (with my own test domain) with zoho...to see if they're a viable replacement. I had used (and abandoned) a free zoho account like almost 10 year ago...but then read the following post, which re-interested me in zoho (though now via a paid account): https://kevq.uk/reasons-why-zoho-mail-is-better-than-gmail/

So far, a few months into my experiment, zoho is really working great! For a single-person approach, zoho's cost is really difficult to compete with; you're looking at $1/month, plus the annual cost of a domain name...which of course is not free, and to your point could add up if need more accounts (for family members, etc.)...But considering other options, it could be something worth considering.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#625
post #60

This is genuinely scary. Photos, Yale locks, Fi, WiFi and Nest thermostat can all be poof gone because I made a silly YouTube comment? How is this not regulated? Google photos also 'helpfully' offers to delete your uploaded photos with 'some guarantee'!!! If this isn't an indication of a giant shitty monopoly that doesn't care about its customers at all, I don't what is. They have some AI ML fucking crap but can't fi…

One of the big problems is that if you have all of your eggs in one basket, there are much more chances to fuck up and get banned. If I post some shit on YouTube, that is unconnected to my Fastmail account. However, it is connected to my Gmail account. If I get Zucked from Facebook for posting dumb shit, and dependent on Messenger to communicate with people, I'm fucked. By diversifying your compartmentalise your risk.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#626

Tip: Get your own domain from a non-google registrar, then connect to Gmail if you prefer. If you ever are locked out, you can just move the address to another email-provider. Another trick is to use always have forwarding enabled in Gmail, to Outlook.com or another provider. All email will be forwarded despite your account being locked, so you will not miss out on important info. And use Google Takeout for backing u…

Who do you recommend instead of Google Domains?

Namecheap

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#627

A lot of comments about setting up your own domain but the cost is prohibitive to a lot a people: - 1 to $5 a month, sometimes per address. It does pile up. - no office suite of the level of google docs/office365 - need some basic know-how to do it - price could go down but then you have to learn about dkim, spf, etc. not your regular customers/consumers thing. Not even your regular HN reader/participant thing. edit:…

You should find an affordable TLD option at https://tld-list.com/

Looks like .cyou is currently the cheapest TLD at $0.65 per year for renewals. There are a lot of other options for just a little bit more. If you can afford it, pay for 10 years in advance.

One domain can be used by an unlimited amount of mailboxes.

Regarding DKIM etc, most email providers will help you with that.

GMail is only a "no brainer" if you don't care about privacy or until Google locks you out.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#628

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a great blog that started getting me over $2000 per month from Google Ads (several million views), then suddenly after 3 months it dropped to $300 with the same amount of views and never gone up. No matter how much promo I did I would never get past $300. It seems like Google somehow put restriction on my account without any explanation. Eventually my blog died (also because Facebook capped organic reach of my…

My parents have a business selling low-carb cookbooks online. They used to do very well because of the organic reach they had on Facebook (they have 1 million likes on their page). Posts would routinely have reach in the millions. One day Facebook changed their algorithm and their reach (and revenue) dropped over 10x. They've been limping along since then, and are planning to retire. It's tough having a single point…

Facebook's moderation rules have determined that Keto and Low Carb aren't scientifically supported, so now tend to suppress resources that proliferate those views.

I emphatically don't agree with this, but this seems to be the line of reasoning with a lot of things. The reality that much of science is never truly "settled" doesn't really matter.

On the one hand, I feel there are a lot of leeches to society that hop on trends to pull money from unsuspecting victims and under-delivering. On the other, I am very much opposed to corporations that half the population uses daily acting as broad censors of information.

Re: Google users locked out after 15 years' use

#630
post #59

All of the advice after fact would not help a person who actually lost his account. Nor if you are among 99.9 % of population who don’t know how to setup your own mailserver etc. Lots of advice here seems like victim blaming. If you have lost your google account then somehow it’s your fault. For me it seems a nightmare if it does happen to me as well. Can we discuss solutions that can help general public in these sit…

It seems more like a reminder that watch-out - it may happen to you too. I use personal domain that I prepay for 5 years in advance. I recently started using gmail account more and more, but this is another reminder that I may lose access to important business emails if I continue to rely on Google.
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