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Ask HN: Notion is withholding my company data, what can I do?

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Re: Ask HN: Notion is withholding my company data, what can I do?

#91

Post by axiosgunnar »

bentcorner wrote: post #51
chirau wrote: post #29

A threat of legal action will probably go a long way. I might be wrong, but I think it is actually illegal to withhold people's data upon request, especially if you claim to offer the feature. Also false advertising. I can see how they would try to skirt around it though, they'd probably say that it is a temporary glitch but the functionality is available. That way it wouldn't be them withholding your data or false a…

IANAL but would the GPDR apply here? Gut feeling is that Notion needs to have a way for customers to export their personal data to comply.

I‘d assume company data (that OP talks about) is not personal data.

Re: Ask HN: Notion is withholding my company data, what can I do?

#93

Post by [deleted] »

chirau wrote: post #29

A threat of legal action will probably go a long way. I might be wrong, but I think it is actually illegal to withhold people's data upon request, especially if you claim to offer the feature. Also false advertising. I can see how they would try to skirt around it though, they'd probably say that it is a temporary glitch but the functionality is available. That way it wouldn't be them withholding your data or false a…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Notion is withholding my company data, what can I do?

#94

Post by naikrovek »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #86
naikrovek wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's disrespectful to respond like that, to me. infantilizing; like I'm incapable of processing a response that is genuine. "uwu we'we sowwy dis isn't wewking anymowe.. pwease don't be angwy wiff us"

How the hell is "Oof, we're so sorry about this." remotely similar to "uwu we'we sowwy dis isn't wewking anymowe.. pwease don't be angwy wiff us" I get it, some forms of communication aren't your bag. But I think it's at least reasonable to focus on a company's intent even if the verbiage isn't what you'd prefer. FWIW I'm quite older than a millennial, but I didn't find anything infantilizing about Notion's response…

it's insulting because it is attempting to minimize the customer's stake in the problem by appearing to be concerned and empathetic.

if they were concerned or empathetic, the issue would not have lasted as long as it has.

in short, it's disingenuous and it's an attempt to minimize the customer's concerns.

Re: Ask HN: Notion is withholding my company data, what can I do?

#95

Post by vindard »

ceocoder wrote: post #77

T-10 before founder shows up here and says something like, “I’m sorry that you feel this way, I’m going to personally fix this”. That will not go well. After about, say 5/6 hours of “reflection”, “soul searching”, “meditation” - they’ll offer a better non apology. Finally a day later, “we screwed up, we broke your trust and we own it”.

Ah the good old Basecamp non-apology apology

Re: Ask HN: Notion is withholding my company data, what can I do?

#96

Post by naikrovek »

bingidingi wrote: post #82
naikrovek wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's disrespectful to respond like that, to me. infantilizing; like I'm incapable of processing a response that is genuine. "uwu we'we sowwy dis isn't wewking anymowe.. pwease don't be angwy wiff us"

gee wiz

I laughed. thank you.

Re: Ask HN: Notion is withholding my company data, what can I do?

#97

Post by nmaleki »

pm90 wrote: post #78
naikrovek wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's disrespectful to respond like that, to me. infantilizing; like I'm incapable of processing a response that is genuine. "uwu we'we sowwy dis isn't wewking anymowe.. pwease don't be angwy wiff us"

Interesting. To me, its a strong signal that the person on the other end is not an offshored, overworked drone but someone who is treated well by the company and cares enough to express empathy.

Consider the platform demographic before responding this way. It can be an advantage and a disadvantage.

Re: Ask HN: Notion is withholding my company data, what can I do?

#98

Post by throwawayboise »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #86
naikrovek wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's disrespectful to respond like that, to me. infantilizing; like I'm incapable of processing a response that is genuine. "uwu we'we sowwy dis isn't wewking anymowe.. pwease don't be angwy wiff us"

How the hell is "Oof, we're so sorry about this." remotely similar to "uwu we'we sowwy dis isn't wewking anymowe.. pwease don't be angwy wiff us" I get it, some forms of communication aren't your bag. But I think it's at least reasonable to focus on a company's intent even if the verbiage isn't what you'd prefer. FWIW I'm quite older than a millennial, but I didn't find anything infantilizing about Notion's response…

The word "oof" affects a casual, breezy tone that is inappropriate in a professional response to a customer concern.

Re: Ask HN: Notion is withholding my company data, what can I do?

#99

Post by ex3ndr »

xvilka wrote: post #69
kevinslin wrote: post #52

Worst comes to worst, you could export using a library like this one: https://github.com/kjk/notionapi That being said, definitely not ideal and is always a risk when storing your data with a SaaS service (disclaimer: I'm the founder of dendron.so - a fast open source notion competitor made for developers)

Looks good (the dendron). One of the killer feature of Notion and alike are the mobile apps, to have most data available on the go, even with the ability to edit or add some notes. Many opensource alternatives "forget" about that.

I constantly puzzled by low expectations about mobile app quality on HN. Notion app is one of the worst. It is literally just an HTML wrapper.

Re: Ask HN: Notion is withholding my company data, what can I do?

#100

Post by anm89 »

freedomben wrote: post #70
sebmellen wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

God, if there’s one thing I hate it’s that condescending millennial speak to cover up a serious issue. > Oof, so sorry about this... What??? If your company is broken don’t make it seem like a funny “aw shucks” blunder.

Interesting, I've written stuff very much like that before for customers that were hitting bugs. I wasn't trying to be "aw shucks" funny. I legitimately feel sorry that my shitty software was breaking on them. That they provided a workaround seemed like a nice thing to me. In fact that whole message seemed pretty good to me. It's probably not entirely that employee's fault but they're still trying to empathize and he…

For what its worth, I second the parent's sentiment. It comes off as really patronizing to me to make responses like this to serious issues.

At a minimum, if you take a friendly personal tone in important communications, but there isn't a real person waiting behind it in an easily accessible manner at customer support with the same tone, I get extremely annoyed. There is something infuriating about the cheapness of projecting friendliness in a UI but then directing me to some robot phone line or an auto generated email where it really matters.

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