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Feedly Forces Its Users To Create Google+ Profiles
somegeekynick writes "Feedly users, a lot of whom migrated from the now-defunct Google Reader, are now finding out that they will not be able to login to the service without a Google+ Profile. In a blog post from Edwin Khodabakchian, which was posted almost at the same time the change rolled out, the reason for the change is stated as following Google's own move from using OAuth to Google+ for authentication. What has riled up a lot of users, as can be read in the comments, is that this change has come without warning and a lot of feeds are now being 'held hostage' by Feedly, especially for users who are reluctant to create Google+ Profiles."
More importantly, this is a non-news story since they have since rolled back those changes.
This is a sig. This is only a sig. Had this been an actual sig you would have been informed where to tune for more sigs.
From TFA:
Nothing to see here. Move along.
What is the issue with creating a Google+ account?
The issue is that using "John Doe" as your name when it is not your name is in violation of their Names Policy, you are subject to having the account suspended or canceled.
This is so much bullshit on so many levels. Using a real-life and permanent name in conjunction with social networking activity is, in my opinion, extremely stupid. Making this a requirement for participation is frightening.
G+ has taken some steps in the right direction, but IMO this has been more talk and less action than is necessary and their behavior with forcing G+ membership for Google store/youtube comments is abhorant.
Preserving anonymity, pseudonyms, and online identity separate from 'real life", insofar as is possible, is essential to a healthy Internet.
AC
Has it never occurred to you that some of us DO NOT WANT to use facebook?
I keep seeing the seeing these paranoid critters screaming bloody murder about being forced to use Google+. What exactly is the issue with creating a Google+ account and not adding any information you do not want to share? Please enlighten me!
Has the privacy disaster that is Facebook not once entered your brain after all these years?
People are losing jobs, and failing to get jobs, because of this nonsense, people are being forced to turn over social network account passwords, and the accounts, with or without passwords are being mined, not only by advertisers, but also by government agencies.
Look, its fine that you buy into this stuff, but don't drag me into it, just because you don't see a problem in your little world. Even teenagers are starting to realize facebook is a trap.
There is simply no reason to believe Google+ is going to be any different. You can see the creeping invasion already.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
I highly recommend setting up the free tt-rss service. There's also a nice mobile client.
"Privacy settings" is a marketing term..
There is NO such thing as privacy online. Posting something online is equivalent to posting it to the world - it's like keeping a secret by telling someone. And if you're not going to tell anyone, why post it online?
The only reason why "privacy" is an option is because Facebook and everyone else knows that people won't post anything otherwise. So they invent "privacy settings" to trick (yes, trick) everyone into revealing things that they rationally won't.
The old adage (from decades ago) goes "never put online anything you don't want to read in the New York Times". Or I guess, the Google front page these days.
Nothing's changed, just Facebook has managed to sucker in a bunch of gullible people into thinking there's any semblance of privacy online. And that doesn't even cover the need to monetize your information. Just putting it online is dangerous enough.