Google+ Account Suspensions Over ToS Drawing Fire 560
ideonexus writes "Reports of Google+ deleting user accounts are all over, including Limor Fried — AKA Lady Ada / Adafruit Industries (recently featured in Wired Magazine) and former Google employee Kirrily 'Skud' Robert for violating Google's identity ToS. Other users are finding themselves locked out of their accounts without an explanation of how they violated the ToS. The worst part for these individuals is that a lock-out of Google+ includes being locked out of all Google services, including email, calendar, and documents."
Facebook does this too (Score:5, Informative)
Lets not forget that Facebook has been deactivating user accounts on the suspicion that they're using an alias for many years, they have a small dictionary of banned names to do this automatically. Have a unique first name like "Husky Smithson"? Too bad.
Only difference is Facebook accounts are not also used for email and other essential services.
Re:This wouldn't be a big deal except (Score:4, Informative)
As a G+ problem - I've seen several people report this and almost always it comes down to something like this:
The ToS for Google services have various criteria.
When filling out the G+ profile - it's really your "Google" profile.
People have been putting bullshit information in. This triggers an automatic suspension of the account because what was entered violates the ToS.
Since the G+ profile is really your "Google" profile; it also locks you out of other services.
The most common one I've seen is people bitching after saying they put in a birth date that made them under the required minimum age to enter into an agreement with Google.
No kidding (Score:5, Informative)
Makes me reconsider if I wish to use it. If Google shut down my G+ account, or Facebook shut down my account or the like I'd lose no sleep over it. I really am not in to social networking and I think it is mostly a silly way for people to waste time at work (I've got better ways to waste time at work, like Slashdot :). However I would be rather angry if my G-mail account was shut down. I have a lot of important things directed to it and it would be rather inconvenient if shut down.
I signed up because friends invited me. I'll have to think if I want to stay signed up as G+ is just something silly to keep my friends happy, G-mail is something I use a lot and I don't want one to risk the other.
"real name" means your REAL NAME. (Score:2, Informative)
mods before you mark this a troll, please consider my point carefully as it has validity.
the people in question would not have ToS violations for their names if they had put their real names in the "real name" fields and their nickname/alias in the "nickname" field.
Kirrily "Skud" Robert is not his real name. Kirrily Robert is his real name and Skud is his nickname.
Limor Fried “Ladyada” is not a real name but Limor Fried is.
While heavy-handed and without warning, these users did actually violate the ToS. That said, it seems Google should inform users that adding their nickname to their real name is not ok.
Re:This wouldn't be a big deal except (Score:4, Informative)
Perhaps we should all cancel our Google+ accounts, stating that we do it because:
1. We strongly disagree with the policy that makes our entire Google account for all services disappear for just breaking Google+ policy
2. (optional) We disagree with the policy that we shouldn't be able to use a pseudonym on Google+
3. We disagree with having to provide an identification or other proof for our names - this should be required only for a kind of a light version of a verified account
Re:Is it time to disconnect from Google services? (Score:2, Informative)
I'm going to seriously look into the technical and logical feasibility of install a mail server on my Linux box in my house which is going to require that I manage my own services and spam filtering along with dealing with the hoops of trying to run a mail server behind an ISP with my own domain name.
It is very feasible to run own services.
I came to this conclusion about 10 years ago, and now manage my own mail. (Actually I am responsible for all my own data) Without getting into "which MTA is better" war, as a complete newbie I accidentally stumbled upon qmail and tried installing it. http://www.lifewithqmail.org/
I haven't lost a mail, and I have learnt quite a bit about how networks operate by maintaining my own services.
It probably seems like overkill to run a system that could handle 1000's of accounts for just my household but I think it empowers you.
A few tips:
1) Try and make a low powered hardware setup for home. Having an always "on" service increases electricity bills. You do get what you pay for. And by running my own I get *exactly* what I want.
2) Create a network with a DMZ and install a good firewall that you can have fine grade control of. I use PF under openBSD. Understand the firewall before you try to host services.
3) oh and RTFM... All of them. I am not a professionally trained system admin, but if you read enough it is not rocket science.
Actually it is kind of fun setting all this stuff up.
Back up your damn Gmail (Score:5, Informative)
You get up tomorrow and log into GMail. You can't get in. Your account is locked. Your mail, calendar, documents — all gone. What do you do now?
Remember that Google has no customer service, even for paying customers. If your account is locked for any reason, spurious or not, you're utterly fucked [twitlonger.com].
I keep a regular backup of my GMail. The official interface is IMAP, but GMail's IMAP implementation is really flaky (e.g. Thunderbird or mail.app won't suck everything down). The way to do this that actually works is with OfflineIMAP [offlineimap.org]. It's command-line and geeky, but by crikey it works.
Using it on Ubuntu or Debian is absurdly simple:
This will create a folder with all your mail in it, in mbox format (readable plain text). You will have duplicate messages in different folders. I'm just doing this to get an archive, so zipped the result.
GMail's IMAP interface is subtly broken, to the point where it can crash offlineimap. Just start it running again, repeat as often as necessary. (If you like, get a more current version [github.com].)
GMail is still the best email interface I've ever used, and I wish Thunderbird would just get the hint and clone it to the last detail. But this way I also have all my stuff myself, just because I can.
I haven't tried this on a Mac or Windows. Could someone do this and write up instructions?
For other Google services, you can get your data from Google Takeout [dataliberation.org]. While your account's not locked.
Re:This wouldn't be a big deal except (Score:4, Informative)
When google picked up wifi data, they tattled on themselves and insisted on wiping what they collected.
They "tattled on themselves" after German authorities demanded to audit the data (which they continued to demand even after Google assured them no privacy info were being collected), which would have uncovered this. The back and forth between the governments and Google on this was covered quite extensively in European press as it happened, but for some reason many Slashdotters repeat the more Google friendly version above. fx Google admits wi-fi data collection blunder [bbc.co.uk] Google’s WiFi data harvest draws widening probes and lawsuits [lastwatchdog.com]