Slashdot Mirror
The Google+ Name Game Continues
theodp writes "'Sticks and stones will break my bones,' the old nursery rhyme goes, 'but names will never hurt me.' Unless, of course, you're on Google+. While touting what it calls a move toward a more inclusive naming policy for Google+, the search giant's Name Policy would still make Sister Aloysius Beauvier smile. Names like 'Doctor Stan Livingston,' 'Bill Smithwick DDS,' and 'Rev. Jim Copley, S. P.' are cited as examples of violations that could cost you your Google+ privileges. And since new Google account users are reportedly now forced to join Google+, one wonders if the Name Policy might even preclude one from establishing one of those adorable dear.sophie.lee or dear.hollie accounts."
Alright, well who cares? If Google shoots itself in the butt by destroying / tying in social with its search, a new search contender will most likely step up and fill the 2nd place void. Maybe it'll be Bing.
Just let the market correct itself.
There is a way to avoid creating a google+ account when signing up. Just go to https://accounts.google.com/NewAccount
Going to invalidate my mod points (I already modded you informative) just to give a clarification:
I tested this out myself, and it's true that it takes you to a page to create your google plus account, and does not give you the option to skip. This is terrible design.
However, if you just leave the bloody page, you have a google account without g+.
My other sig is clever.
That's the old new account url that will be discontinued soon. They're replaced it with the new one in almost every service already, they started with gmail yesterday. I'm sure the change will be done soon.
You can also delete the G+ profile. Took me about 30 seconds to figure out how, and about 5 to actually do so.
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
We all care; If Bing has to try to beat Google by getting better then there is hope of better things. If Google loses to Bing by getting worse then Microsoft won't feel any need to work to improve things.
Remember that Netscape, once they realised that Microsoft had found a way to destroy them with illegal market manipulation, panicked and started to rewrite their whole product which meant that, even if the US justice department had intervened earlier, there would have been little left to save.
I just went through the Google registration process. The whole article is a lie, of course; as you would expect from any Microsoft associated publication; your Google+ account is only activated later on by explicitly signing up. Unfortunately even I, who have done Google registration quite a few times, didn't realise that until after I had signed up for Google+ with my new account. I have verified that even if you make the same mistake as I did you can trivially delete your Google+ features from your Google account.
Summary: as usual recently the first post is someone who manages to get Microsoft sponsored lies into place. Unfortunately Google opened themselves up for this by having an unclear registration process.
=~ s,(.*),<sarcasm>$1</sarcasm>,g if any_point_you_wish();
Account settings -> Delete profile and remove associated Google+ features, select "Delete your entire Google profile", check box labeled "I understand that deleting this service can't be undone and the data I delete can't be restored", press "Remove Selected Services", done. Five steps in total.
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
Just let the market correct itself.
No.
No.
No.
I'm sick of hearing this idiotic philosophy. The market does not correct itself. If 1% of your faith in 'the market' were of any merit, then people would have been leaving Facebook in droves due to all the privacy gaffes they've had. Let's face it - people are stupid, nobody cares about their own privacy, and living by some stupid appeal to the majority will only make that the de facto standard.
Why is this a problem? Because if everyone uses Facebook/G+/whatever, then everybody else has to start abiding by their idiotic terms, because eventually, all the employers/social groups/universities/etc. start using these abusive services too and make it so that you have no choice. Some groups choose to conduct all their business on Facebook - to me, they might as well not exist as nothing will ever make me sign up for that piece of shit. So don't talk about letting the market correct itself - the market is pretty much always wrong, and it has terrible consequences.
I have left slashdot and am now on Soylent News. FUCK YOU DICE.
Even if the market did work, it would do so by:
Telling people not to complain as the market will take care of it, basically advocates skipping the step which would make the market take care of it. It really makes no sense.