Youtube forces users to link their account to gmail

To continue my point;

I don't see this as useless whining, first world problems (although it certainly looks that way, but because of the larger picture and lots of conspiratory, inhuman movement happening, it is more than that - a "first-world-problem" would be someone not saying 'have a nice day' when you think they should have, or someone saying something in the internet that you don't like), or complaining about a free service without a right to do so.

There is something sinister going on, and I think it's only right to point it out. Youtube is like a guy that comes to bother you every time you visit a certain store chain that you have found to be very useful and entertaining, and even otherwise valuable to you. The guy stops you in your tracks, doesn't let you go further, until you answer his questions.

You don't even know the guy, but he asks things like:

"Hey, what's your phone number? Look, if you don't give me your phone number, burglars will rape your house and steal your firstborn! Now, can I have your phone number?"

He will ask this almost every time, while also showing you dull corporate clip-art designed to raise FEAR in you, so that you would be coerced into giving the phone number.

Then he suddenly pops up from nowhere again just when you are opening a book to see what it's about, or trying to say a comment to someone.

"Hey, would you like to use a better name than your anonymity-protecting handle that you are now using? How about stripping completely naked and shouting your home address and bank number to everyone here, while we all record it to video and broadcast it to millions of people? No? Well, when would you like to change your name? There are even more options open to you! Btw, how would you like to sign up for this excellent, dubious service? I am not going to take a no for an answer!"

Then you give him some answers just to try to get rid of him, and eventually end up going to a different store, where a similar guy will ask the same thing again, and he only gives nonsensical replies to you - and you don't even want to be hassled by this intrusive, disruptive moron who doesn't know how to leave people alone, but you can't do anything in the store until you do.

And every time you go to another store, and try to say a comment to someone, the guy pops up again with the same questions! Only if you tell him "come back later, I really want to answer all your intrusive and inappropriate questions at a later time", he will leave - for awhile.

A week later, he's back.

Then he starts changing his tone.

Now the question "would you like to" has been changed to "you should". Gosh! He is not taking a 'no' for an answer!

After awhile, the question has been changed into suggestion, then into recommendation, then into a strong recommendation, and finally...

"HEY! You MUST use this useless, dubious service, or you are not allowed to come here and talk to anyone anymore! You can still browse around, but you won't be able to say anything to anyone!"

I mean, what's next? Youtube will find a way to hack to all internet transactions, and starts interrupting EVERYTHING you do, even your ATS posting? Every once in awhile it's :"HEY! Stop writing that, this is more important! Give me all your private info and join google plus! It's good for ya! It's easier than typing some messages to ATS!"..

Just because it's "free", doesn't mean that no one has the right to point out intrusive, inappropriate behaviour that it does. Just because someone beats you up for free, doesn't mean you can't complain about it!

Besides, you are complaining about someone, although you are also using a free service, as someone already pointed out... why is it that it's perfectly alright to use a free service to complain that someone is complaining about a feature or behaviour of free service?

At least the complainer here is not trying to get your phone number, address, 'real name', or any other private information from you. I'd reckon that kind of behaviour is universally creepy from strangers, and it's completely unethical and inappropriate coming from corporations.

They have no need to know it, and we have no obligation to divulge it. Sure, we don't have to use their "free" services, but they don't also have to be such a es es holes, either!

If there was a viable alternative to youtube, that would NOT do these things, and was NOT controlled by 'legal system' and it's corrupt corporations (can there ever be any other kind?), then that argument would have a bit of a basis. But as long as that is not the case, it's incredibly short-sighted and insulting to say that no one should complain about youtube's intrusive coercion tactics.

I never wanted google plus, and I won't be coerced or intimidated into using it. Talking about those tactics is completely valid and being angry about it is completely natural, it's not whining.

Wow. That's a lot of hysteria when all you need to do is click "skip" when they ask you for your phone number.

Yes they ask every time and its annoying, but its not like you can't do anything unless you put in your phone number.

As for people being able to see your YouTube account because they're linked, I'm pretty sure I've unlinked mine after accidentally linking them. You just need to look around the settings.

Eta: I shouldn't have said i unlinked them. More like you can make it so no one can see your YouTube (and whatever other website they are affiliated with; I noticed friends written reviews on various movie and shopping sites). I assumed that was your main concern, but maybe that's not good enough for you. If you are indeed that concerned about privacy, you might want to not use any free services, be it email, social media sites. LinkedIn has been the most uneasy one for me; they put in "friends you might know" a girl I knew in kindergarten. I'm not in contact with her and don't have her email address. My dad however emailed her a couple of times and mentioned her name once in an email to me and my brother. The same thing happened on my brother's LinkedIn despite having no contact with her either.

To be on the safe side, you might want to set your computer on fire after each use.

Originally posted by EvenParanoidsHaveEnemies
When you are talking about Google, you ARE talking about YouTube and vice versa. They are one in the same as a company.

You can have a gmail and NOT link it to your youtube account, you can have a youtube account and NOT link it to your gmail account and you can choose NOT to use their free service.

I am perpetually stunned when people complain about things that they get for free.

It's not free in the sense that you are getting something for nothing. It's free in the sense it doesn't cost us dollars to use.

A person who posts videos on youtube is giving their time and content. You are paying youtube with content, which they basically sell and profit off.

If you watch videos, you are generating page views which means money for youtube.

If youtube was truly free, it would not work. Youtube profits off users and viewers, which means users and viewers ARE contributing to youtube, so they aren't using it for free.

Just like ATS is not free. Every member here pays ATS with content and page views. For that content and page views, we get the service.

The whole "it's a free service" argument implies that the user isn't contributing anything, and that's simply not the case. We are paying them in page views and content, and for that payment we expect a certain service. Just because we pay with content and page views instead of USD doesn't make it any less of a paid service.

The users are what made Youtube. This is how they thank us, knowing most users will LOATHE this.

Yes, I'm pissed. I can't reply to comments, like/dislike comments ...without a Google+ profile (I deleted my Goog+ account and what did they do? Without asking me, they MADE a new one under my Utube username! WTH!?) , can't report SPAM comments.

I wish we all do a mass exodus to... somewhere else. Vimeo? Vimeo loads slow for my and I just end up having to pause and buffer the video before viewing. Plus, Vimeo only wants well made artsy videos.

What alternatives do we have?

YouTube used to be fun with a lot of user videos, now I never log in since all the restrictions, never post comments and hardly see any user videos compared to what I used to see. As is I don't even browse the site very much anymore. It's getting full of spam. There are still some useful or entertaining videos on the site but it's not as easy to use or as fun as it once was a few years ago. At this rate, I might only surf to the site once or twice a month in a couple more years.

Requiring mobile phone numbers when you do not have a mobile phone and then requiring any user account be linked to other accounts, forget about it. Google may track all searches but I will not use an account on YouTube linked to other accounts when I'm only surfing the web for fun. YouTube has gone way down hill in my opinion. If their web traffic isn't growing very much or dropped, I think these are the reasons. Users are leaving but they haven't found too many alternative sites yet.
Spammers seem to love YouTube now with certain words and phrases.

MsAphrodite
reply to post by magma

 

Oh I'm not entitled as you like to think. I have inalienable rights enumerated in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. If you aren't a US citizen I wouldn't expect you to understand. If you are, then I feel sorry for you.

Such as your inalienable right (as enumerated in the Constitution and the Bill or Rights) to force a private company to provide their service to you - and only on the terms you accept?

Google & Youtube are just services, products, even toys if you want to be cynical. Where is your inalienable right to force a toy company to let you play with their toys without paying for them? This login merger is just the price they are asking you to pay.

Google is not the only search engine, Youtube is not the only video hosting company. I've not used the Google search engine for a long time and, on the rare occasion I want to upload something, I use liveleak. In what mind-blowingly crazy world of entitlement mania do your inalienable rights come into this?