Re Ask Slashdot: Is There a Good Alternative to Facebook?

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Tom Goltz <tgoltz () QuietSoftware com>
> Date: March 25, 2018 at 8:03:13 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: lauren () vortex com
> Subject: Re: [IP] Ask Slashdot: Is There a Good Alternative to Facebook?
>
> Going to Google+ to avoid Facebook is jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
>
> When Google+ first started up, one of the prominent policies was that they required "Real Names".  As they originally 
> interpreted that policy, I was in violation of that policy if I created a profile with the name of "Tom Goltz" 
> because that is not my legal name.  While I was *probably* OK, it rapidly became clear that the policy was being 
> unevenly and inconsistently applied.  Worse yet, if the Google+ ban-hammer came down on your account, it didn't just 
> take out your ability to use Google+, but your entire Google account.  This meant that my Gmail account would stop 
> working, my Android phone would be badly crippled, Google Drive would stop working, and my ability to access Google 
> Docs would be severely curtailed.
>
> There was no documented or usable appeal process, and it was also almost impossible to reach a human to appeal a ban 
> by the faceless army making these arbitrary decisions.  I decided that it simply wasn't worth the risk to use Google+ 
> and deleted my profile.
>
> Google is also in the same business as Facebook: They're gathering as much information as they can about people and 
> using that data to sell advertising.  Given the amount of data they already receive from the Google services I do 
> use, I don't think it's a good idea to add the "social" data currently on Facebook into that pot.
>
> > On 3/25/2018 3:13 PM, Dave Farber wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > > From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
> > > Date: March 25, 2018 at 3:11:26 PM EDT
> > > To: nnsquad () nnsquad org
> > > Subject: [ NNSquad ] Ask Slashdot: Is There a Good Alternative to Facebook?
> > >
> > >
> > > Ask Slashdot: Is There a Good Alternative to Facebook?
> > >
> > > https://tech.slashdot.org/story/18/03/25/0039218/ask-slashdot-is-there-a-good-alternative-to-facebook
> > >
> > >    Lauren Weinstein believes Google has already created an
> > >    alternative to Facebook's "sick ecosystem": Google Plus.
> > >    "There are no ads on Google+. Nobody can buy their             way into
> > >    your feed or pay Google for priority. Google doesn't
> > >    micromanage what you see. Google doesn't sell your personal
> > >    information to any third parties..." And most importantly,
> > >    "There's much less of an emphasis on hanging around with those
> > >    high school nitwits whom you despised anyway, and much more a
> > >    focus on meeting new persons from around the world for
> > >    intelligent discussions... G+ posts more typically are about
> > >    'us' -- and tend to be far more interesting as a result."
> > >    (Even Linus Torvalds is already reviewing gadgets there.)
> >
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