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Terraria on Stadia cancelled after developer's Google account gets locked

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Re: Terraria on Stadia cancelled after developer's Google account gets locked

#321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is there really no way for a user to get in touch with a human agent? File for a C&D and then, if that does not help, a court-issued injunction order ("Abmahnung" followed by "Antrag auf Erlass einer einstweiligen Verfügung"), if you're German. This works somewhat reasonable for Twitter, Facebook and Google.

You would need legal standing. A free account isn't your property.

Even for a free account, there is a contract in place between you and Twitter, which Twitter can't unilaterally terminate without reason, especially if the "code of conduct" collides with the right of free speech (https://www.ratgeberrecht.eu/internetrecht-aktuell/meinungsf...)

Re: Terraria on Stadia cancelled after developer's Google account gets locked

#322
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, the good old Don't Be Evil days. I've asked so many people if they can remember Google's old slogan. Nobody does.

Don't Be Evil is so stupid. It's like Disneyworld having the slogan "we won't kill your kids".

Except when a theme park ride malfunctions, maims and kills most of a family in a gruesome fashion. Of course then you cannot sue because you've agreed/signed an arbitration clause in the terms of service.

Re: Terraria on Stadia cancelled after developer's Google account gets locked

#323
post #285

It's painfully clear at this point that we need a consumer "bill of rights" to protect us from these giant tech companies. At the very least, companies must be legally required to present you in writing with the so-called violation of terms they're accusing you of, evidence of the violation, and a phone # or other immediate contact so that you can dispute the accusations. It's insane that these basic legal rights don…

You're not seeing the other side of the coin - the huge amount of spam and abuse that such systems correctly identify and remove. If every abuser requests those explanations (which they will) there will be far more spam going around the Internet. Just think about the army of "Facebook content moderators" who were a popular topic on HN recently due to the concerns over their mental health. (I am offering no solutions…

> the huge amount of spam and abuse that such systems correctly identify and remove.

Maybe allowing single service providers to capture several billions of users is the problem here.

Re: Terraria on Stadia cancelled after developer's Google account gets locked

#324
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, the good old Don't Be Evil days. I've asked so many people if they can remember Google's old slogan. Nobody does.

Their new slogan is hilarious. It's not even one slogan, it's three: * Respect the user * Respect the opportunity * Respect each other The first one is obviously a joke, because nothing says "respect the user" like canceling a beloved service with millions of users, or "updating" the product while losing half the features. The last one makes you wonder why they had to put it into a slogan. Isn't it the baseline expec…

I don't know, that clarifies a lot to me.

From the perspective of an AI moderation system, all you have to do to be perfectly internally consistent is to ban all accounts that raise any flags.

Friend Computer sees no Conflict if one is no longer a Citizen, because being in Conflict with the Computer is Treason.

Re: Terraria on Stadia cancelled after developer's Google account gets locked

#325
post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few months ago I've seen a Googler pissed on Twitter about how their spouses GMail account got suspended and he got completely stonewalled internally as well. It seems that even Googlers themselves cannot get any human contact for account support. (Sadly I can't find that Twitter thread anymore.) EDIT: Found it - https://twitter.com/miguelytob/status/1315749803041619981

How do you manage to get totally locked out of your account though: if I have backup codes, a backup email address, the backup code for my 2FA app... surely I am protected from this, right? Assuming my account doesn't get hacked and turned into a spambot. I am sitting here thinking of what would happen if my Gmail account got blocked. The disruption it would cause to me is enormous.

It's not you, it's Google that locks you out of the account for vague "term of service violation" and nothing you do will help.

Re: Terraria on Stadia cancelled after developer's Google account gets locked

#326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Start the process of getting out right now. Get an email address that you own, on a domain you control. Switch to a provider that takes your money for whom you are the customer - not the product. I did this with Fastmail and Iki.fi, a Finnish non-profit[1], who have been selling people "permanent" email addresses since 1995. [1] http://www.iki.fi/

Any thoughts on getting your own domain and then still using gmail for receive email on that domain?

Combined with regular backups (maybe to an offline client, using IMAP?), sounds like a good idea to me.

Actually, I've been thinking about doing the same thing.

But i don't know much about emails.

Re: Terraria on Stadia cancelled after developer's Google account gets locked

#327
post #29
post #4

As usual, some Googler browsing HN will reactivate his account, everyone will forget and Google won't change a thing to his unbanning process.

Or the @GoogleStadia Twitter account will forward this to someone who knows about it. The Stadia Twitter account is uncharacteristically active on customer support for a Google product.

Twitter seems to be the worst platform ever created to get customer support.

If any entity requires a huge amount of Twitter followers to get support, count me out.

Re: Terraria on Stadia cancelled after developer's Google account gets locked

#328
post #273

As a small business we use Google Suite. We would need a single solution which provides all these: - Email (unlimited domains, unlimited addresses) - Drive (Docs, sheets, forms) - Photos (this is where we also store out private photos 2Tb+; also, auto-sync is a lifesaver) - Calendar Any alternative which is as affordable as Google? How about Zoho?

We are also on GSuite (Workspace now?). I am currently considering moving everything to Office 365. However I am not sure about the photos part.

Honestly, Office 365 sounds good, but we are a Linux & Mac only business. Can't imagine using MS products... Or will that not matter at all? :)

Re: Terraria on Stadia cancelled after developer's Google account gets locked

#329
post #232

As a small business we use Google Suite. We would need a single solution which provides all these: - Email (unlimited domains, unlimited addresses) - Drive (Docs, sheets, forms) - Photos (this is where we also store out private photos 2Tb+; also, auto-sync is a lifesaver) - Calendar Any alternative which is as affordable as Google? How about Zoho?

A hosted Nextcloud with OnlyOffice/Collabora and a Mail Server? There's quite a few providers for that.

Yes, I did consider this option. The only issue is the Mail Server. It has to be secure & maintained. + SSO for all services would be ideal.

Re: Terraria on Stadia cancelled after developer's Google account gets locked

#330

You’d think that there’d be a “this person is high profile and any automated bans will cause a stink” flag on accounts to require human review on such decisions, but apparently one of the richer companies in the world just can’t be bothered to hire a few extra people to avoid a PR problem. That or they’re convinced that they’re this close to fixing the automated system, which they obviously are not.

> You’d think that there’d be a “this person is high profile and any automated bans will cause a stink” flag on accounts

What does high profile mean? I've heard of Leon Spinks, the boxer, but I've never heard of Andrew Spinks in my life until today. People with 5 digit Twitter follower counts are actually a dime a dozen.

Even people who were obscure can become "high profile" for a day. That's how going viral works.

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