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Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

danfitdegree.hashnode.dev

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Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#201

Post by willglynn »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #122
Zak wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the problem here might be conflating abuse prevention with policy compliance. Abuse prevention is adversarial, and it's risky to reveal details about why something was flagged as abusive. Policy compliance isn't, or shouldn't be. A building inspector wouldn't say "this building has a code violation in the kitchen area" and refuse to provide specifics about what would fix it. An app store needs both, and they…

> A building inspector wouldn't say "this building has a code violation in the kitchen area" and refuse to provide specifics about what would fix it. Electrical inspections can be very much that way. "This isn't up to code, I'm not signing off on it." "How is it not up to code?" "Your electrician knows. Or you can look in the electrical code." Your electrician doesn't know; no other inspector has ever objected to the…

> That electrical code is paywalled, despite being official government policy (written and published by a trade association

If you're meaning the US National Electric Code written and published by the National Fire Protection Association, I would point out that it is available to the public for free:

https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-stand...

You need a free account and you can't download a PDF, but strictly speaking the contents of the document are not paywalled.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#202

Post by smsm42 »

You are picking pennies in front of a steamroller. The steamroller has all the power. You have zero power. One day steamroller hurts you. You go and rant on the internet. The steamroller continues as always, you keep picking pennies in the company of thousands like you. There's enough pennies to make it worth it, so why are you complaining?

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#203

Post by Spivak »

6510 wrote: post #192
_yb2s wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once you've lost your cool you've also lost.... so take as much as you can!

You are just embracing the dystopia at this point.

Being angry at what is essentially a front line customer service rep will do absolutely nothing at all to end the dystopia and just make one human’s day worse.

If you’re not mad at the person who actually has the power to fix the problem then you’re wasting your breath. And to get out ahead of it, your anger doesn’t “go up the chain” either. Like all service workers, dealing with angry customers is a standard workplace hazard.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#204

Post by smsm42 »

fleddr wrote: post #119

And this is why we need to cherish the web. I see no reason why a yoga app can't be done on the web. I do know that apps tend to convert better, if only we could bridge that gap. It's in particular troubling how much of this madness we've internalized to just accept. The idea that you need to resubmit a 100 apps because Google decided you need to target a different internal version number is insane. It would be very…

I wish people would stop doing crap like "you need to install our app to click this button and do the action you want to do" which I could totally do online but probably without providing that sweet install +1 and those sweet tracking data. So it happens more and more.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#205

Post by jfoster »

sircastor wrote: post #198
matheusmoreira wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's insane enough that we even allow corporations to own platforms and users. Software development should be free. They should not be able to reject anything. We should reject that notion entirely instead of playing the game they made up.

It may be hard to believe, but free software development stacks are a relatively new thing. When I was growing up, you had to buy the compiler, and the documentation for how to use the tools, and the language. (Though I think most 70s and 80s era computers came with BASIC) While I sympathize with the idea that this should be open and free and easy, there are too many bad actors out there, so we can’t have nice things…

But there might be alternate approaches that allow for more freedom. For instance, what if Google assessed the risk level of each app and presented that to users, rather than blocking publishing entirely?

They could add all sorts of scary warnings in-between a user and a suspicious looking app, but eventually still allow both users & app developers to proceed if they have sufficiently high intent.

They could even monetize it by getting developers to pay per update if they want a "detailed assessment" which was able to result in a "very low risk" rating, if passed.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#206

Post by smsm42 »

dcdc123 wrote: post #67
dekhn wrote: post #14

Is there any large group representing App developers that could manage the large-scale negotiation and legal wrangling required to force Apple and Google to be more helpful when rejecting legitimate applications? When I worked in Google (Ads, then later in Recommendations for Play and youtube) people often said this was intention to avoid teaching spammers how to get around the rules. But it's clear there are enough…

Support legislation requiring Apple and Google to allow third party app stores.

Google allows third party app stores, or just installing apps without any app stores at all. But there's much less $$$ in targeting users outside of the walled garden.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#207

Post by willnonya »

aussieshibe wrote: post #141
sgjohnson wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

I can't tell if you're joking. If you're seriously asking, how about that unions have consistently and successfully fought for better treatment and pay for workers all around the world. Many of the standards we expect today only exist because of union action over the last century or so. Developers are no different from any other worker in the sense that they have more power as a group than individually. That generall…

So, your rationale for joining a union is misinformation and propaganda might somehow work this time?

Organizing wouldn't be a bad idea, a labor union would be.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#208

Post by password4321 »

andirk wrote: post #68
_yb2s wrote: post #25

As a scientist, I often have to deal with similar BS of a reviewer misunderstanding a submitted journal article, literally insisting we do something we already did, and explained in the paper. I try to just own the fact that I didn't make my explanation clear and visible enough, so I just submit an updated version along with a comment like "We thank the reviewer for pointing out that we didn't clearly articulate our…

This advice is relevant in many aspects of daily life too. I visualize it like tug-o-war. The more they disagree, the more they both back up + pull harder. But the more they "agree" (it's all in the delivery as @universehacker mentioned) the more they approach one another + relax their grip. Meet in the "middle"!

This was illustrated in a business communications course when the instructor asked someone to place their hand up against his high-five style. When the instructor began to push the other person pushed back immediately without being asked, in order to stay in the same place.

It is human nature!

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#209

Post by willnonya »

danuker wrote: post #197
sgjohnson wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

When Google loses an app developer, maybe they lose .1% of revenue. When an app developer loses Google, they might lose 100% of their revenue (if they only develop for Android). This fundamental mismatch in bargaining power is why unions are needed for fair resource allocation.

This fundamentally mis-represents the players involved.

Organizing might be a valid response but a labor union completely misses the root of the issue and would not serve a constructive purpose in this situation.

A trade organization would seem a more appropriate fit than a union.

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