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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

#321

Post by cwkoss »

willnonya wrote: post #209
danuker wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'm not talking about a labor union, im talking about a customer union

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#322

Post by cwkoss »

sgjohnson wrote: post #298
nibbleshifter wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Outside of the US, where people seem to have licked some lead paint or huffed glue when learning about unions, developers often do unionise or join an appropriate trade union. Why? Its a form of insurance. Your Union will provide legal cover in the event of a dispute with your employer (eg: wrongful termination), legal advice, representation if you are dealing with say, HR department, and are super useful when engagi…

> Think of union dues as a small fee you pay to retain a legal team for employment problems. I can see the benefit of this if you have absolutely no negotiation skill or even the option to negotiate (i.e. you’re an easily replaceable entry-level worker and your conditions of employment are “take it or leave it”, and you can’t really “leave it”), but in my case, I’m ready to walk at basically any time. And if I’m read…

If you only care about the dignity of your own job in the short term, maybe. If you care about the dignity of your coworkers and future workers in your industry generally, you would probably benefit from supporting a union.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#323

Post by pschuegr »

kodt wrote: post #320
trhr wrote: post #124

Stay off Google. Stay off Apple. Stay off Facebook. Stay off Amazon. Stay off Microsoft. Stay off Reddit. Stay off Twitter. Stay off Adobe. Stay off Salesforce. Stay off Oracle. Stay off Sony. Stay off eBay. Stay off GoDaddy. Stay off PayPal. Stay off Etsy. Stay off Steam. Stay off Comcast. Stay off RCA. Own your platform from the bottom to the top. If your business model requires you to rely on one of these companie…

You could have just said "Stay off the Internet"

Avoid life in all forms, if possible.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#324

Post by CamperBob2 »

rrwo wrote: post #311
CamperBob2 wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The notion that companies with a presence on the Internet have to obey laws all over the planet is not how the Internet was ever supposed to work. Eventually people will remember that we used to think that way, and why. So, as Google is a US company, US law would apply. Developers in other countries would presumably benefit from the same requirement to provide a human support contact. If not, that's unfortunate.

The problem isn't the lack of a human contact. The problem is having no choice but to participate in a closed app store with opaque rules with no oversight or appeals.

You're right, but that's the abstract view. The more immediate issue is precisely the lack of a human contact with the necessary agency to fix the problem. There's no reason to think "Anthony" was a human. If he is now, he won't be next year.

Eventually market regulators will understand that companies like Apple and Google aren't just corporations, but their competition. Things will change in a hurry at that point. These companies simply can't be allowed to control entire markets without corresponding accountability to the public.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#325

Post by yencabulator »

john-radio wrote: post #180
jackbravo wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So much this! Wish we could have again this idea of publishing web apps as real apps in our phones.

Slightly relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/1367/

100% reliable offline access is a huge deal.

Meanwhile, the world is slowly moving to a direction where even "real apps" don't work offline. Lots of Google's apps keep offline copies, but their sync logic is broken in such a way that if you have a very very slow internet connection -- but are technically connected -- the app becomes unusable.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#326

Post by XCSme »

Nemo_bis wrote: post #318
XCSme wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why $500 and not just enough to pay for the salary of that person, or just enough to even be profitable for Google?

How do you suggest to estimate "profit" on such a service when the downside is a risk (however small) of an almost 20 G$ fine by the EU?

I don't think the discussion is specifically to the GDPR issue, also such a service should reduce risks, not increase it.

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#327

Post by robertlagrant »

bogwog wrote: post #315
robertlagrant wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Relative to almost anything else a consumer might want to choose in their purchasing lives, tapping a screen a couple of times doesn't seem to qualify as difficult. Definitely not as a restriction of consumer choice.

By “tapping a screen a couple of times” you’re referring to the process of enabling side-loading on Android? Because if you don’t think that’s a problem, then you must be living in a bubble surrounded by techies. Imagine you’re trying to start a competing app store. What does user acquisition look like for you on Android? Besides the regular ad spending to promote your app, you also need to figure out a way to guide…

I have the consumer choice to buy any compatible car battery I want. That doesn't mean it's easy to install. Unless I'm living in an ivory tower with people who find app stores easier to install than car batteries.

Ease of installation (which, again, at least in my rarefied atmosphere of people who find tapping a screen under 10 times [0] easier than, say, going and buying a compatible battery, remove the old one, installing the new one, and disposing of the old one) still isn't particularly to do with choice. Android certainly has choice. It's Apple that doesn't.

[0] https://www.howtogeek.com/696504/how-to-install-third-party-...

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#328

Post by Izkata »

insaider wrote: post #137

You seem to have missed a detail in their replies "We confirm that your app has options to report and block abusive users but your app does not contain functionality to report objectionable content." You complain that they haven't answered the specifics of your emails yet you've actually failed to address theirs. Unpopular opinion but it seems like their response was reasonable tbf.

From the Day 2 email, they do have that already:

> 1.) Comments (which you can report or block by tapping on the comment)

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#329

Post by Izkata »

parkerhiggins wrote: post #230
insaider wrote: post #137

You seem to have missed a detail in their replies "We confirm that your app has options to report and block abusive users but your app does not contain functionality to report objectionable content." You complain that they haven't answered the specifics of your emails yet you've actually failed to address theirs. Unpopular opinion but it seems like their response was reasonable tbf.

I agree, the author is conflating the ability to report and block a user due to their content and the ability to report specific content of that user. All they had to do is add a link to report the specific contentId that user created. The author was blinded by frustration and didn’t read.

From the Day 2 email, they're not conflating the two:

> The only user generated content on the app is

> 1.) Comments (which you can report or block by tapping on the comment)

> 2.) User Profiles (which you can report or block by tapping "More" in their profile

Re: Two weeks of dealing with Google as a developer

#330

Post by _yb2s »

onli wrote: post #276
Spivak wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 workpla…

But the service worker here (Anthony) has the power to approve the app, he is just incompetent or hostile to the author. The anger is warranted (though the statements are harmless), this is targeted sabotage. Maybe time to sue?

Not sabotage, just incompetence. Anthony is probably overworked, and has seconds to approve or reject an app. He may also not be a native english speaker, and be unsure about the meaning of the words used in this app.

Sure, he has every "right" to be angry, but that strategy will only make things worse.

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