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Microsoft bans LibreOffice developer's account without warning, rejects appeal

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Re: Microsoft bans LibreOffice developer's account without warning, rejects appeal

#21
post #19
post #12

So what happens if he uses windows 11 and its mandatory online account, his computer is bricked?

People don't realize how fragile this makes things. Requiring an online ID to log into a local computer creates all sorts of vulnerabilities. When Microsoft gets hacked again, it can let hackers lock you out of your computer. It's basically ransomware-in-waiting.

>It's basically ransomware-in-waiting. RIWAAS, nice. Classic ms move.

Re: Microsoft bans LibreOffice developer's account without warning, rejects appeal

#22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Watching the rollout of speech laws like the “online safety act” in the UK makes me rather dubious of the wisdom of that idea.

And that just in the UK. For the EU's own shenanigans, we have persistent attempts such as these examples of fuckery: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44720103 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44705240 There have been many, many other examples over recent years. Anyone making any claim to the superiority of the EU regulation state in how it respects digital rights for individuals is full of shit or sheerly ig…

> Anyone making any claim to the superiority of the EU regulation state in how it respects digital rights for individuals is full of shit or sheerly ignorant.

The EU is a huge organization and too often the right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing.

But, the EU isn't alone in curbing digital rights for individuals, it's a worrying trend all over the world even over here in the states, with congress introducing a bill of our own along the same lines (Kids Online Safety Act) - we'll see if it goes anywhere, but the overton window is shifting to being in favor of regulation like this, unfortunately.

Authoritarianism is on the rise everywhere, and rapidly.

Re: Microsoft bans LibreOffice developer's account without warning, rejects appeal

#23
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just use noscript and a separate browser for malicious sites like fb and ig. It might seem painfull at first, but you'll quickly end up with with a web that is better than before.

No. Just use blabla is not enough. Sites which do that should be denounced.

What's wrong with doing both?

Re: Microsoft bans LibreOffice developer's account without warning, rejects appeal

#24

The need for European digital sovereignty cannot be overstated.

Watching the rollout of speech laws like the “online safety act” in the UK makes me rather dubious of the wisdom of that idea.

Correct I’ll take the cluster F of what we have now over the UK style of the government watching over my shoulder as they force me to give up anonymity on the web for those sites that most require it

Re: Microsoft bans LibreOffice developer's account without warning, rejects appeal

#25
1) I doubt this is Microsoft conspiring against a LibreOffice dev. It's not impossible, but it seems way more likely that it's just an automated process that is misfiring.

2) I cannot prove that this (opaque) process has been retrofitted to use LLM's in its decision making, but I would not be the slightest bit surprised. Neural networks are, intrinsically, even more opaque than the processes they replace.

3) Using Big Tech as a place to backup your work/files/etc. is fine, as long as you have a local copy, and sometimes you have no choice but to deal with them. However, any time you're dealing with Big Tech, even if they have no particular animus towards you, they may suddenly be unavailable (to you) without explanation, for an extended period of time. Plan (as best you can) accordingly.

Re: Microsoft bans LibreOffice developer's account without warning, rejects appeal

#26
post #7

As I hear stories of Apple, Google, and Microsoft revoking valuable access, I remember this article... "Don’t build your castle in other people’s kingdoms." https://howtomarketagame.com/2021/11/01/dont-build-your-cast...

In this day and age, it is almost impossible for certain businesses not to build on someone's else kingdom. Facebook, instagram, uber, lyft, doordash, instacart, and hundreds of unicorn businesses are literally built on top of ecosystems that are controlled by 2 or 3 companies.

There was a fleeting moment where the Internet was the "Wild West" but we are long past that. The GP's idiom is about as practical as "don't be a citizen of any state".

Re: Microsoft bans LibreOffice developer's account without warning, rejects appeal

#27
post #15

I don't really see the story here. Just the LibreOffice dev got locked out of his account. Seems like an automated system that failed, which isn't exactly a revelation that false positives occur. Feels like this is meant to stir up OS war drama and make it seem like Microsoft is trying to prevent LibreOffice from succeeding.

You mean the part where the appeal was denied as the safety net of false positives? The fact that the site asks you to login to get support on not being able to login isn't a story? The fact they told him they'd help every step of the way only to ghost him?

Are we supposed to have been beaten down to the point that none of this is a story? Granted, it is only one side of the story. We have no idea what other things this account has done.

Re: Microsoft bans LibreOffice developer's account without warning, rejects appeal

#28
post #7

As I hear stories of Apple, Google, and Microsoft revoking valuable access, I remember this article... "Don’t build your castle in other people’s kingdoms." https://howtomarketagame.com/2021/11/01/dont-build-your-cast...

In this day and age, it is almost impossible for certain businesses not to build on someone's else kingdom. Facebook, instagram, uber, lyft, doordash, instacart, and hundreds of unicorn businesses are literally built on top of ecosystems that are controlled by 2 or 3 companies.

I mean, technically you don't have to use those ecosystems and could roll your own stuff, including infrastructure instead of AWS but it's definitely going to be expensive.

Which is why we need regulation for those big players (gatekeepers as the EU has taken to calling them). If you're going to be so huge that you essentially operate your own market and economy, then you need to be regulated like one, and forced to play nice, interoperate, and not favor your own services.

Re: Microsoft bans LibreOffice developer's account without warning, rejects appeal

#29
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just use noscript and a separate browser for malicious sites like fb and ig. It might seem painfull at first, but you'll quickly end up with with a web that is better than before.

No. Just use blabla is not enough. Sites which do that should be denounced.

You can sit around and wait for things to change, or you come up with a workaround to get done what needs to be done. You seem to be against workarounds instead of making people just sit idle doing nothing.
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