Tell HN: Your account can be deleted anytime, for any reason
Be mindful of the terms of service you're under.
Services such as GitHub can delete your account on a whim.
"GitHub reserves the right to refuse service
to anyone for any reason at any time."
https://edit.tosdr.org/points/652
"Bitwarden has the right to suspend or terminate your access to
all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without
cause, with or without notice, effective immediately."
https://edit.tosdr.org/points/6688
"However, Apple reserves the right at all times to determine whether
Content is appropriate and in compliance with this Agreement, and
may screen, move, refuse, modify and/or remove Content at any time,
without prior notice and in its sole discretion, if such Content is
found to be in violation of this Agreement or is
otherwise objectionable."
https://edit.tosdr.org/points/851
25 comments
[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 74.4 ms ] thread"We reserve the right to serve refuse to anyone"
You will now see that in your mind repeatedly!
Could not find it either, but clever indeed! :)
> You will now see that in your mind repeatedly!
X)
Bitwarden -> Vaultwarden
Can't kick yourself off your own services. Well you can, but you can also unban yourself.
Extra points:
For emails, buy a domain like mydomain.com for about $15 a year. This lets you have a stable email address (e.g., johndoe@mydomain.com) no matter which email service you use.
Consider https://njal.la/ or something similar. However, note that:
https://edit.tosdr.org/points/24274So maybe use another service.
I also use Portmaster when I am on Windows.
Forget defending against the government, they have state authority (violence, jail time), you don't.
See: https://riseup.net/
One-time pad (OTP) or "true randomness" (uniform probability distribution) is your only safe option (as long as they cannot time travel), but do it offline. Don't trust computers, see:
Physics is your only safe haven. Seemingly, everything/everybody has to abide by the law of physics. Even your "almighty" state.Well actually...
> Well you can
:P
It brings to mind the convenience dillema. How many custom made note taking apps do we really need? How much % of all use cases must an app solve before we collectively declare a problem "solved"?
> Should a service be forced to keep accounts running in perpetuity?
No, but maybe wait for 3–6 months for inactive accounts before closing them permanently.
If I am a terrorist, fine, do not notice me, but in all other cases, I expect you to notice me in advance.
For example, Dropbox seems reasonable:
If you don't like the terms of the service, then don't use it.
The 'don't like it, don't buy it' sentiment appears shortsighted, especially considering that both Android and iOS are operated by two major corporations.
Think of banking apps, for example. Banks usually do not favor a tampered OS.
Consider:
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8806743PS: Yes, you might use another OS, but how would you do your online banking with it? Explain.
Another point to your "don't like it, don't buy it"-argument:
Suppose you buy a device; further suppose the state is not involved (no warranty). Your device breaks down the moment you bought it, and there is no refund. How do you deal with that, especially if you are low income?
Sure. If those are terms of the sale then those are the terms of the sale. The seller offers terms. The buyer either accepts them or doesn't.
>> Think of banking apps, for example. Banks usually do not favor a tampered OS.
Ok, something of a different case, but sure. Banks offer a service, and decide which platforms to offer it on. Banks have denied customers access to banking to specific clients all the time. Lots of Web sites have died for lack of banking services.
If the seller is not willing then there's no transaction to be made.
>>Suppose you buy a device; further suppose the state is not involved (no warranty). Your device breaks down the moment you bought it, and there is no refund. How do you deal with that, especially if you are low income?
This has happened throughout history forever. It's so common there's a -latin- term for it (buyer beware) Caveat Emptor.
Which is why govt -does- get involved. And why, well, do your research before buying.
Obviously all sorts of industries have all sorts of regulations. Companies take liberties. Govt adds regulations to limit egregious behaviour. But fundamentally the seller offers something, negotiate if you like, or walk away.
Fundamentally you're not -entitled- to anything. If you don't like it, don't buy it.
I believe online services and digital goods should have regulations. When I pay for something, I want a guarantee. Cancelling my purchase anytime for any reason shouldn't be allowed.
Imagine it's 1998. You buy software on a disc (a game). Now, in today's digital world, it's like I'm taking back your disc without a refund. That's not right. Even if it is just a "license" you are buying, if you have something (proper) physical, you can still use your product.
I'm not. Which is why I choose who I give my money to. Its their choice to do what they do, and my choice nor to buy.
>> I believe online services and digital goods should have regulations.
Cool. Feel free to lobby for, vote for and garner support for regulations.
>> When I pay for something, I want a guarantee.
So do I. Which is why I choose not to do business with those that don't offer one.
>> Imagine it's 1998.
Well, remember for me, not imagine, but OK:)
>> You buy software on a disc (a game). Now, in today's digital world, it's like I'm taking back your disc without a refund.
Probably a bad example since I have lots of game disks from the 90s. The vast majority no longer work (OS reasons, hardware reasons, copy protection reasons). All my floppy disks are dead. I still have a CD Rom reader, but those are rare now too. -some- Windows games work. None of the DOS ones do. None if the Apple ones do.
So probably not a good example. But even then we (mostly) understood the life of those games was limited. The hoops we jumped through, the specialised hardware to run them, IRQs, Config.Sys - and, good times.
Music on cassette tapes? Movies on VHS? All digital stuff is temporary. No amount of regs could have saved that.
Maybe that's the difference. This is not new (to me). It's been this way forever. And if you don't to support companies with bad habits, then just don't give them money.
Its still -your- choice.
I am trying to bring across that having warranties for digital stuff makes sense, just like we have them for physical products. It's about fairness. Companies shouldn't delete things (especially paid ones) without a good reason; it should be reasonable, not just based on their whim.
The "sole discretion" thing is not fair. It's like saying companies can do whatever they want (e.g., polluting your neighborhood, risking your health). Imagine a world without any rules (like no government, no police). We'd probably go back to "smaller tribes" because surviving alone would be tough. A "big tribe" (i.e., a country) is okay, but a global one is a bit too much to handle. Even the US is divided up into smaller states.
Anyway, all I am arguing for is: there should still be some rules (i.e., warranties) to keep things fair.
Some say just use an email and password, but they can lock you out of your email too!
Some sign ins are worse than others though. I'd rate FB as the riskiest, such extreme false positive rates.
Followed by Google - if you violate TOS on one account, you could be banned on all the others. Plus they have so many services you can violate. At least Meta doesn't ban your FB and Insta at the same time. Both Google and Meta have allegedly nil customer support too.
Unless you do something seriously illegal, I would fear accidental deletes more than this. So having backups and fallbacks, is always recommended, even if you trust the company and your behavior.
As I mentioned here, Dropbox's Terms of Service seem reasonable. They give you a heads-up. That's the minimum I expect.
Keep backups. And make sure to have a Plan B.
:-/