Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google reminds users to "Call Dad", makes users angry

google.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 104 posts

Re: Google reminds users to "Call Dad", makes users angry

#81

Post by unreal37 »

nostrademons wrote: post #12

I was just talking with my mom about this this morning. My father passed away about a year and a half ago. I still very much miss him. I really hate to be That Guy that complains about the little things that are supposed to brighten our day. Particularly because I work for Google and have at various other times been the guy implementing these little things that then get complained about. I wouldn't want to see Google…

This reminds me of when Facebook reminded you to reconnect with friends, some dead. Glad they removed that feature.

-1 to Google for this idea, but I wouldn't open a ticket or get enraged about it.

Re: Google reminds users to "Call Dad", makes users angry

#82

Post by jsz0 »

I found it a bit creepy simply because I view the Google services as pure utility completely segregated from my real life. I use them in the same way I use my microwave or toaster. If I woke up this morning and my microwave said "call Dad" I would have the same reaction. It's not a big deal of course but it's just kind of weird. It shows what a huge challenge Google has to ever develop a coherent social strategy when such a harmless message causes a little controversy.

Re: Google reminds users to "Call Dad", makes users angry

#83

Post by dstein64 »

caf wrote: post #61
djcapelis wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the difference between seeing something that annoys you and moving on and having something that someone else stuck into your reminder list that you can't delete. No one is complaining about Google's fathers day doodle, people are complaining that Google put in reminders they don't want into a space they view as theirs and there's no way to get rid of them. I'm glad you presumably had a good relationship with you…

This is on the money. It's a psychology-of-UI issue - where the Google front page feels like a public space, the logged-in side of Gmail feels more like a private area. This means that while a holiday Google Doodle sails by just fine, a reminder in Gmail feels very invasive. Those answering "just get over it" are clearly not interested in building applications that people enjoy using.

> where the Google front page feels like a public space, the logged-in side of Gmail feels more like a private area. This means that while a holiday Google Doodle sails by just fine, a reminder in Gmail feels very invasive.

One reason for drawing the distinction between what feels like a public versus private space is based on the private information that is contained within gmail, versus the non-private information on the frontpage.

An additional reason that gmail may feel like a different area than the frontpage is that Google doesn't often make modifications like today's (I don't use the chat functionality often so I am not sure if they have done other modifications similar to the call reminder today). Users who were offended by today's reminder but not by today's frontpage doodle might have found the doodle offensive if Google had never modified the frontpage logo, or modified it less frequently than they currently do.

Re: Google reminds users to "Call Dad", makes users angry

#84

Post by baddox »

pyre wrote: post #80
baddox wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When there is a perfectly good objective argument to be made (in this case, that undeletable reminders is a bad user experience), I do think an appeal to emotion is ineffective if not fallacious. In this case, the particular emotional appeal seems either insincere or unreasonable. Are people who have bad or deceased fathers offended by the very notion of Father's Day and the marketing around it? I doubt it, but even…

> Are people who have bad or deceased fathers offended > by the very notion of Father's Day and the marketing > around it? There's a difference between Bob Barker saying "Remember to have your pets spayed or neutered" and Bob Barker coming to your house and saying, "Hey, asshole! Spay your dog already!" You are arguing that there is no difference. You seem to base it on the idea that if someone feels offended by Bob…

It's pretty clear that Google doesn't know your father or your family situation, so their little reminder is a lot different that Bob Barker actually showing up at your house. Also, I don't get this assumption that your GMail is your own personal space. There are ads on every single page, and Google has a long history of sending out blanketed messages (e.g. new Labs features).

Re: Google reminds users to "Call Dad", makes users angry

#85

Post by baddox »

djcapelis wrote: post #71
baddox wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When there is a perfectly good objective argument to be made (in this case, that undeletable reminders is a bad user experience), I do think an appeal to emotion is ineffective if not fallacious. In this case, the particular emotional appeal seems either insincere or unreasonable. Are people who have bad or deceased fathers offended by the very notion of Father's Day and the marketing around it? I doubt it, but even…

That's the difference between posting something in a space people view as public and a space people view as their own personal area. People have much more of a right to be offended about the later. You're offering your users a space to call their own, anything you put in there that offends any of them is an intrusion and leads the user to realize that the control of that space is entirely up to you and not them. When…

I don't buy that Gmail is or is supposed to be a personal area. There are prominent ads, and Google frequently sends out messages to everyone's Gmail about new Labs features and such. Sure, your Gmail is more personal than, say, the cnn.com homepage, but it's still pretty clear that mass messages aren't off the table.

Re: Google reminds users to "Call Dad", makes users angry

#86

Post by wvoq »

fleitz wrote: post #16
schrototo wrote: post #11

My father recently died and while things like these may trigger some slight pain, that's just life. You have to get the fuck over it. It's never worth accommodating the easily offended, especially on the Internet.

Couldn't agree with you more, my dad passed about 7 years ago, the OP on the ticket seems to have daddy issues. If I was her father I'd be glad she didn't call. There's a great way for the complainers to get rid of the message, stop using a service provided to you for FREE. Pay for your own server, own web interface, own backups, etc then there will be no "Call Dad" button. Until then deal with the fact that most fat…

> the OP on the ticket seems to have daddy issues.

Just bookmarking this for the next time someone insists that the folks on hacker news are an egalitarian bunch who would never tolerate casual sexism.

Re: Google reminds users to "Call Dad", makes users angry

#87

Post by pyre »

baddox wrote: post #84
pyre wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Are people who have bad or deceased fathers offended > by the very notion of Father's Day and the marketing > around it? There's a difference between Bob Barker saying "Remember to have your pets spayed or neutered" and Bob Barker coming to your house and saying, "Hey, asshole! Spay your dog already!" You are arguing that there is no difference. You seem to base it on the idea that if someone feels offended by Bob…

It's pretty clear that Google doesn't know your father or your family situation, so their little reminder is a lot different that Bob Barker actually showing up at your house. Also, I don't get this assumption that your GMail is your own personal space. There are ads on every single page, and Google has a long history of sending out blanketed messages (e.g. new Labs features).

  > It's pretty clear that Google doesn't know your father
  > or your family situation, so their little reminder is
  > a lot different that Bob Barker actually showing up at
  > your house.
Bob Barker showing up on your doorstep does not imply that he knows anything about you personally, other than that your dog isn't spayed. Google doesn't necessarily know anything about you personally, other than the fact that you have (or had) a dad.

  > Also, I don't get this assumption that your GMail is your
  > own personal space.
* Are you suggesting that it's a public space?

* You may not 'own' it, but that doesn't mean there isn't an expectation of it being a semi-private space. You are leasing the use of your Gmail page from Google at the price of the ads being there. What if your landlord went door-to-door in your apartment complex telling everyone, "Call your father!" When your landlord shows up at your door, you don't know that he's going around to everyone. How would you not see that as personal?

* "Call your father" is a command, which is a lot more personal than "Father's day is coming up, you might want to call your father for free using our service!"

> There are ads on every single page

Do you not own your (purchased or gifted) copy of (e.g.) a newspaper? There are ads on every page.

  > Google has a long history of sending out blanketed messages
  > (e.g. new Labs features).
Most normal people don't get this, or just ignore them thinking that they are spam. And in reality your email inbox designed for sending/receiving messages. Your task list isn't. Do you expect the ability of others to automatically add things to your own personal TODO list? Even sending calendar invites through email usually requires confirmation before accepting them.

Re: Google reminds users to "Call Dad", makes users angry

#89

Post by burgerbrain »

shaggyfrog wrote: post #78
m0nastic wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably then, you're a reasonable person. I can assure you though, that if a shopping mall put up a sign like that they'd be flooded with complaints. Ultimately, it's a cost/benefit analysis for the company involved. Gay marriage is a contentious issue presently, Father's Day isn't really. You can find a subset of people who are offended by any implication of supporting any idea or cause. That's why I'm a little t…

> Gay marriage is a contentious issue presently, Father's Day isn't really. That is not the issue. The problem isn't about being reminded that Father's Day exists. The problem is the undeletable, unsolicited imperative to each and every user that they "call Dad", irrespective of how valid that statement is for any arbitrary user.

That's at worse what, a UX flaw that doesn't interfere with normal operation? What is the big deal?

Re: Google reminds users to "Call Dad", makes users angry

#90

Post by burgerbrain »

pyre wrote: post #87
baddox wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's pretty clear that Google doesn't know your father or your family situation, so their little reminder is a lot different that Bob Barker actually showing up at your house. Also, I don't get this assumption that your GMail is your own personal space. There are ads on every single page, and Google has a long history of sending out blanketed messages (e.g. new Labs features).

> It's pretty clear that Google doesn't know your father > or your family situation, so their little reminder is > a lot different that Bob Barker actually showing up at > your house. Bob Barker showing up on your doorstep does not imply that he knows anything about you personally, other than that your dog isn't spayed. Google doesn't necessarily know anything about you personally, other than the fact that you have (…

Bob Barker is not a non-sentient system.
Post reply on HN