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Google Deletes Last 7 Years Of User's Digital Life, Shrugs

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Re: Google Deletes Last 7 Years Of User's Digital Life, Shrugs

#61
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are scripts to do it via IMAP, but it takes a very long time and it's a bit of a pain to set up.

Not at all, it's utterly trivial with something like OfflineIMAP. Of course, depending on the size of your mailbox it'll take a little while for the first synchronisation but after that it's incremental.

Or just use Thunderbird and tell it to download all messages ("synchronization").

Re: Google Deletes Last 7 Years Of User's Digital Life, Shrugs

#62
post #49

I think there's an important lesson here that you can take home right now: If your primary email is an @gmail.com address, you have your head firmly in the lion's mouth. You can backup your data. You can have fallback tools and services. You cannot backup your identity. And if that identity is controlled by Google, you are tying your online existence for the duration to the foibles of a publically traded company with…

Another thing to think about is OAuth. If you if you lose an account at Google or Facebook that you've used to sign into another site, you lose them too.

Re: Google Deletes Last 7 Years Of User's Digital Life, Shrugs

#63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's just how Google operates. If they can make a cron job that eliminates the need to supply support for most customers, that's what they do. You begin with what seems like disagreement, then prove my point. A $600 device to be exposed to Google's mobile ads? Here's an email. A few million dollars a year in ad spend? Here's a whole department of new friends. Solving problems with AdWords can be done algorithmica…

So if we discard the polarizing language about customers and products, we get to your point being that the more profitable you are as a customer, the more attention you get? I don't think that is terribly challenging viewpoint.

Perhaps. But the vast disparity between the class of user that an advertiser is versus, well, everyone else, makes the original language both apt and more economical.

There are infinite degrees of nuance everywhere you look. We use language to reduce that complexity. You can call it sophistry as much as you like — the reason it's polarizing is because the reality sucks for 99% of people who need Google's help — they're not treated as customers as most people understand that term. Inconvenient but true.

Re: Google Deletes Last 7 Years Of User's Digital Life, Shrugs

#64
post #49

I think there's an important lesson here that you can take home right now: If your primary email is an @gmail.com address, you have your head firmly in the lion's mouth. You can backup your data. You can have fallback tools and services. You cannot backup your identity. And if that identity is controlled by Google, you are tying your online existence for the duration to the foibles of a publically traded company with…

The problem with having your own domain for email is the communication factor. When I tell someone my email is charles.lastname@gmail.com, there's no miscommunication. Worst case I have to spell out my last name, but generally if someone's asking for email they already have my last name. If you buy a domain, nowadays, you have few options with respect to getting an email that sounds legit, mature, and isn't long and/…

As someone who has my own domain, I find it very rare that I actually have to tell someone my email address out loud using my voice. 99% of the time they get it from an online profile, or my website, or by receiving an email from me, or by me filling in a form, online or physical, or a business card, or by me writing it down.

I don't see this as a valid issue to deter anyone from getting their own domain.

Re: Google Deletes Last 7 Years Of User's Digital Life, Shrugs

#65
post #50
post #49

I think there's an important lesson here that you can take home right now: If your primary email is an @gmail.com address, you have your head firmly in the lion's mouth. You can backup your data. You can have fallback tools and services. You cannot backup your identity. And if that identity is controlled by Google, you are tying your online existence for the duration to the foibles of a publically traded company with…

How does this solve said issue? Using Google Apps means the big G still controls all your data.

If you download all your mail for backup purposes using, say, POP3 then if Google does nuke your account you can switch to hosting yourself and maintain your email address.

Re: Google Deletes Last 7 Years Of User's Digital Life, Shrugs

#66
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with having your own domain for email is the communication factor. When I tell someone my email is charles.lastname@gmail.com, there's no miscommunication. Worst case I have to spell out my last name, but generally if someone's asking for email they already have my last name. If you buy a domain, nowadays, you have few options with respect to getting an email that sounds legit, mature, and isn't long and/…

i@yourname.com Solves the problem you raised.

Except it's an impossible solution for a lot of people, including myself. My name as a domain name is taken, and was taken long ago.

Re: Google Deletes Last 7 Years Of User's Digital Life, Shrugs

#67
post #40
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sympathize with your idealistic sort of thinking but it is unreasonable. Corporations (which is what Google is) are responsible to shareholders. The purpose of a corporation by definition is to maximize the bottom line for the shareholder. It has nothing to do with being good to people. The only way that this guy's problem will get solved is if enough people catch wind of his situation that it affects the fairly po…

I believe the idea of "publicly-held companies" is a net negative for humanity. It encourages immoral behavior. Obviously my thoughts are unreasonable. I wish the world were unreasonable. Because then people might empathize with each other to an unreasonable degree, resulting in far less grief and hate within our microscopic timeline of our universe.

I have to disagree with you. "Publicly-held companies" don't encourage immoral behavior. People encourage immoral behavior. I know that some folks like to think of people as "basically good", but I don't think history has held that out. Humanity has proven time after time that regardless of the social structure or organization, their tendency for immoral behavior pervades each one.

"We did it for the shareholders" may be a unique excuse in the realm of organizations, but governments, churches, companies, school boards, communes, etc all suffer from problems like these. The difference with public companies is that folks can vote with their dollars, or in an adequately free economy, can band together and compete.

Re: Google Deletes Last 7 Years Of User's Digital Life, Shrugs

#68
post #35
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The world would be a better place if if companies focused on "people", and not on "money". Of course that's unrealistic. But I don't care. I grew up believing in Star-Trek-style society. You know... "Social problems are gone; people are free to devote themselves to improving themselves; etc". I honestly believed that humanity would someday achieve this. I used to believe most people were inherently good, and that the…

I sympathize with your idealistic sort of thinking but it is unreasonable. Corporations (which is what Google is) are responsible to shareholders. The purpose of a corporation by definition is to maximize the bottom line for the shareholder. It has nothing to do with being good to people. The only way that this guy's problem will get solved is if enough people catch wind of his situation that it affects the fairly po…

"Fiduciary duty" is not a good excuse to be unethical.

Re: Google Deletes Last 7 Years Of User's Digital Life, Shrugs

#69
post #50
post #49

I think there's an important lesson here that you can take home right now: If your primary email is an @gmail.com address, you have your head firmly in the lion's mouth. You can backup your data. You can have fallback tools and services. You cannot backup your identity. And if that identity is controlled by Google, you are tying your online existence for the duration to the foibles of a publically traded company with…

How does this solve said issue? Using Google Apps means the big G still controls all your data.

He's suggesting that if your account is shut down for some reason then your email address still works.

Re: Google Deletes Last 7 Years Of User's Digital Life, Shrugs

#70
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i@yourname.com Solves the problem you raised.

Except it's an impossible solution for a lot of people, including myself. My name as a domain name is taken, and was taken long ago.

On all available tlds? Really?
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