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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

#141

Post by jdd120 »

Matt_Cutts wrote: post #113
white_devil wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> FWIW Not much. They're only doing damage control. I wonder whether Matt Cutts is on holiday or something, by the way..

I talked to the person with this complaint, then looked into it myself. The account was suspended for a violation of our Terms of Service. After digging into the situation, my personal opinion is that Google took appropriate action. I'm sorry that I can't go into more detail.

48 hours? When someone gets fired from a job do they let that person just hang around the office for a couple of days?

If the guy broke the rules and had that action taken against him...and Cutts agrees...he did something wrong for real. Automated mistakes happen. Obviously this was not one of those.

The only sad part about this, is that we'll never know what he did wrong. Shame.

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

#142

Post by vaksel »

DrJokepu wrote: post #95
danilocampos wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But, see, the trouble here is that these users aren't customers . They're product sold to advertisers. When I was spending a few million a year on AdWords, guess who had a direct line to Google, both via email and on the phone? I could talk to those guys whenever I wanted about campaigns, get advice on improving my keyword mix, budgeting strategies, any of that stuff. From this business' point of view, individuals ju…

I keep hearing this argument over and over again but the fact is that when I was using Google AdWords and had problems, I received zero (0) support and response from Google. Nothing. And I was a customer in the "I'm paying money for this" sense of the word. Obviously this is just anecdotical evidence as the only "data point" I have is my own experience and it's possible that everyone else in the world receives five s…

yeah same here....the thing with Google is that unless you are spending 100K a month, it doesn't really care about you as a customer.

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

#143

Post by econgeeker »

sgentle wrote: 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…

This, and the impossibility of resolving the issue, is why I don't trust google. I had my own experience with google unfairly preventing me from using its service-- one where I was trying to give them money-- and I realized they really don't have any customer support.

This is why I trust Apple. They might be slow, or silent, but they've never left me hanging (and I've been a customer of theres for decades before google existed.)

That said, my iCloud account is where media and non-essential information will get stored. If Apple disappears it one day, at most I'll have lost music and movies. But everything real lives somewhere I can control and backup.

I use GMAIL, but with POP access, and I store my email locally.

However, it is time to get off of gmail and move anyway. It is just such a PITA to manage your own email servers....but I expect a company that does it for a living will provide better support than a company where I'm the product rather than the customer.

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

#144

Post by omaranto »

CamperBob wrote: post #115
joshfinnie wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to wonder how many complaints of Google shutting down accounts is due to the person getting hacked and the hacker commiting the violation. Not sure how Dylan can say the below quote with absolute certainty... On July 15 2011 you turned off my entire Google account. You had absolutely no reason to do this, despite your automated message telling me your system "perceived a violation."

Not sure how Dylan can say the below quote with absolute certainty... He can say it because Google apparently can't be bothered to explain exactly what 'violation' he supposedly committed.

So you're saying that when he wrote "you had absolutely no reason to do this" he meant "you gave me absolutely no reason to do this (and may or may not have one)"?

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

#145

Post by andy »

Matt_Cutts wrote: post #113
white_devil wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> FWIW Not much. They're only doing damage control. I wonder whether Matt Cutts is on holiday or something, by the way..

I talked to the person with this complaint, then looked into it myself. The account was suspended for a violation of our Terms of Service. After digging into the situation, my personal opinion is that Google took appropriate action. I'm sorry that I can't go into more detail.

Can't you at least give him access to his personal data in his Gmail, and terminate his adwords or adsense or whatever. How can you live with yourself? Jesus.

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

#146

Post by akronim »

darklajid wrote: post #97
mrcharles wrote: post #56

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/…

What about the .name TLD? I own (for now.. I'm not sure if that can be disputed if more people with my rather rare last name apply) lastname.name So - you can reach me, if I finally finish my migration and stop being a lazy bastard, at firstname@lastname.name - which is rather good imo. Sure, I've got other legacy addresses, but this could be a viable alternative to a gmail _identity_.

Actually the domain you own is almost certainly firstname.lastname.name, but the email is setup so firstname@lastname.name works. It's particular to the .name TLD.

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

#147

Post by Eliezer »

palish wrote: post #23
danilocampos wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But, see, the trouble here is that these users aren't customers . They're product sold to advertisers. When I was spending a few million a year on AdWords, guess who had a direct line to Google, both via email and on the phone? I could talk to those guys whenever I wanted about campaigns, get advice on improving my keyword mix, budgeting strategies, any of that stuff. From this business' point of view, individuals ju…

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…

http://lesswrong.com/lw/ux/traditional_capitalist_values/

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

#148

Post by ajays »

ajays wrote: post #132
BonesLF wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since Cutts isn't at liberty to say I think I'll take this one for him. This guy did really dumb stuff with Adwords or Adsense and got caught. Everyone wants a piece of the Google pie and Google wants no one to have it too easily, or their integrity goes to the shitter. Think about what you could do with a tiny bit of programming knowledge and keyword knowledge to make money using these service. Then try it and get b…

Even assuming the OP pulled some stunt with AdWords (and this is just an assumption that you're putting forth, without any evidence whatsoever), does it justify wiping out that guy's entire online existence? His photos? His emails? His documents? This is like sentencing someone to death for shoplifting. GMail, Picasa, etc. are not about AdWords; they're a means for people to connect with each other. Unless, of course…

Wow. A bunch of Google fanboys voting me down for stating something rational, but that just happens to be anti-Google.

I just started using G+ (mainly because I'd like there to be a strong competitor to FB), but Google's antics give me cause for concern. I'd hate to get "hacked" some day and have Google completely wipe out every bit I have with them.

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

#149

Post by naner »

sgentle wrote: 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…

This is probably a little hyperbolic. I have a gmail address and I don't expect it to disappear. If it does, however, I will still survive (after going through some temporary pain). I feel like you're telling me I shouldn't use a credit card because someone could steal my identity. Or that I shouldn't use closed-source software because my "freedom" is in jeopardy.
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