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My Google Workspace account suspension

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Re: My Google Workspace account suspension

#141

Post by dismalaf »

HumanOstrich wrote: post #67
protimewaster wrote: post #20

I think Google has done some cool stuff, and I think in a lot of ways they're, at least historically, one of the less evil big tech players. I gotta say, though, that my experience with trying to get them to sort out any kind of issue with their services makes me reluctant to spend any money with them. I bought a Pixel phone. As per the sales terms, the phone came with one year of Gemini AI Pro service. Except, the r…

I agree with your sentiment, but I wanted to call out that they've always been just as evil as other big tech companies. I think their motto of "don't be evil" was some pretty clever PR. I started questioning it c. 2008 when they ghosted me on resolving an issue with my blogspot site that was a bug in the platform. All I could get was a condescending non-response from a "diamond" volunteer on a forum. They were appar…

Disagree. Even with their issues, they're still less evil than MS, Apple and especially Oracle or Meta.

If they didn't have all their issues (discontinuing products, bad customer service) they'd probably be bigger than MS and Apple combined. But here we are.

Also for better or worse, I pay for bundled Google storage + Gemini and YouTube separately, it's still worth it, even without free months or whatever. And still better than being in MS or Apple's ecosystem.

Re: My Google Workspace account suspension

#142

Post by profsummergig »

Evidlo wrote: post #132
protimewaster wrote: post #20

I think Google has done some cool stuff, and I think in a lot of ways they're, at least historically, one of the less evil big tech players. I gotta say, though, that my experience with trying to get them to sort out any kind of issue with their services makes me reluctant to spend any money with them. I bought a Pixel phone. As per the sales terms, the phone came with one year of Gemini AI Pro service. Except, the r…

Anyone have an idea whether it would be practical to go to small claims court? I'm curious if this is a path consumers can take if a corporation breaks an agreement?

You'd have to go in the same jurisdiction as they're incorporated. I think (IANAL).

Re: My Google Workspace account suspension

#143

Post by tartoran »

profsummergig wrote: post #142
Evidlo wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone have an idea whether it would be practical to go to small claims court? I'm curious if this is a path consumers can take if a corporation breaks an agreement?

You'd have to go in the same jurisdiction as they're incorporated. I think (IANAL).

I think a service chasing google around in courts for disputes would do quite well.

Re: My Google Workspace account suspension

#144

Post by tartoran »

dismalaf wrote: post #141
HumanOstrich wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with your sentiment, but I wanted to call out that they've always been just as evil as other big tech companies. I think their motto of "don't be evil" was some pretty clever PR. I started questioning it c. 2008 when they ghosted me on resolving an issue with my blogspot site that was a bug in the platform. All I could get was a condescending non-response from a "diamond" volunteer on a forum. They were appar…

Disagree. Even with their issues, they're still less evil than MS, Apple and especially Oracle or Meta. If they didn't have all their issues (discontinuing products, bad customer service) they'd probably be bigger than MS and Apple combined. But here we are. Also for better or worse, I pay for bundled Google storage + Gemini and YouTube separately, it's still worth it, even without free months or whatever. And still…

> it's still worth it, even without free months or whatever

Until you go of the rails of their processes and have your account closed with no recourse.

Re: My Google Workspace account suspension

#145

Post by ajb »

Evidlo wrote: post #132
protimewaster wrote: post #20

I think Google has done some cool stuff, and I think in a lot of ways they're, at least historically, one of the less evil big tech players. I gotta say, though, that my experience with trying to get them to sort out any kind of issue with their services makes me reluctant to spend any money with them. I bought a Pixel phone. As per the sales terms, the phone came with one year of Gemini AI Pro service. Except, the r…

Anyone have an idea whether it would be practical to go to small claims court? I'm curious if this is a path consumers can take if a corporation breaks an agreement?

Depends on your jurisdiction, of course. (I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, merely my impressions). In the UK this would likely be worth it if the injury is a specified financial amount. So for people who have paid for something and simply not got it, a small claims court is a good bet for getting a refund. A lot of the time however, the injury is in the consequences of relying on one of these companies services, and having it withdrawn without notice, as in the OP. Usually, you want service restored, as that is in fact the least costly action for both sides. But small claims courts (in the UK) do not make that kind of order. In theory you could sue for the financial consequences of the abrupt withdrawal, but I'd guess that's too complicated for a small claim.

Re: My Google Workspace account suspension

#146

Post by deanc »

protimewaster wrote: post #20

I think Google has done some cool stuff, and I think in a lot of ways they're, at least historically, one of the less evil big tech players. I gotta say, though, that my experience with trying to get them to sort out any kind of issue with their services makes me reluctant to spend any money with them. I bought a Pixel phone. As per the sales terms, the phone came with one year of Gemini AI Pro service. Except, the r…

It took me 13 years to get them to unban my adsense account. To this day I still have no idea what happened and have assumed it was a competitor sending fake clicks or something.

Re: My Google Workspace account suspension

#148

Post by FireBeyond »

gib444 wrote: post #82
Arcuru wrote: post #80

If a service offers "Login with Google/Apple/Facebook/etc" you should never do that if they offer a username/password. It just increases the single point of failure. Avoid places that only offer the "Login with Foo" if at all possible (looking at you Tailscale). As an ex-googler, the only reason I was comfortable keeping even my personal email there was because I could reach out internally if there was a problem. I l…

> Avoid places that only offer the "Login with Foo" if at all possible (looking at you Tailscale). Tailscale is the only serious company that I can ever recall offering /only/ third party login. It's bit bizarre on the face of it. Anyone know the reason?

My other annoyance lately is companies that don't let you set a password. It's either passkey only (which I'm not sold on, yet), or "we'll email you a login link". Great, now I have to wait for the email to show up, click the link, hope it doesn't expire if I get distracted while waiting, and then also delete your emails, sometimes multiple times a day?

What a shit tier authentication mechanism.

Re: My Google Workspace account suspension

#149

Post by roelschroeven »

HumanOstrich wrote: post #67
protimewaster wrote: post #20

I think Google has done some cool stuff, and I think in a lot of ways they're, at least historically, one of the less evil big tech players. I gotta say, though, that my experience with trying to get them to sort out any kind of issue with their services makes me reluctant to spend any money with them. I bought a Pixel phone. As per the sales terms, the phone came with one year of Gemini AI Pro service. Except, the r…

I agree with your sentiment, but I wanted to call out that they've always been just as evil as other big tech companies. I think their motto of "don't be evil" was some pretty clever PR. I started questioning it c. 2008 when they ghosted me on resolving an issue with my blogspot site that was a bug in the platform. All I could get was a condescending non-response from a "diamond" volunteer on a forum. They were appar…

I think their "Don't be evil" was pretty close to the truth, as much as it can be for large corporations, until around the time Google purchased DoubleClick. That was in 2008, so that seems to match your experience.

Re: My Google Workspace account suspension

#150

Post by alwa »

deepsun wrote: post #139

I tried to read it assuming the blog post author is a hacker. The hacker could have stolen an OTP device with DNS access, but couldn't steal for the phone number (so they removed it, there was no explanation why phone number is removed). And honestly, how else could they prove they are legit? What if they really are a hacker? It would be cool if Google (and other media giants, especially IdP ones) had an office where…

I’d hate for the “government-name” verification to become a requirement, but I’ve long wished services would at least offer that as an optional add-on. For certain important accounts, I’d be eager to place my government identity on file with the company ahead of time.

The Americans have done something kind of interesting along those lines, as far as an in-person IDV option to establish e-government accounts [0]. You start account setup online, then take a barcode to a post office along with your identity documents.

I have to imagine it’s hard to make a commercial case for such a system, though… especially these days with so much momentum toward the approach I resent—that is, requiring ID checks just to be online in the first place.

[0] https://www.login.gov/help/verify-your-identity/verify-your-...

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