#297036 - 19/05/2007 00:46
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: hybrid8]
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veteran
Registered: 21/01/2002
Posts: 1380
Loc: Erie, CO
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Maybe there was a more direct route...
Yes. Search for "google contact form" on Google and it is the first hit. 
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#297038 - 19/05/2007 01:23
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: cushman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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#297039 - 19/05/2007 02:04
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: jimhogan]
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veteran
Registered: 21/01/2002
Posts: 1380
Loc: Erie, CO
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That's cheating
I found it interesting that the same search string on MSN produces the same result, but Yahoo points you to the main Contact Us section in Google.
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And it also smacks of a company that is drunkenly in love with its own metaphor. (Ignoring some basic navigation aids for us poor linear thinkers.)
I'm sure if you work at Google, it's hard NOT to assume that is the way it should be done. I don't think it's done on purpose (they actually have a Feedback teaser text on this About page which makes me think they had a generic feedback form at some point. Google isn't just a few people anymore, and they don't just have a single product. What are you going to contact them about? Maps? AdWords? Angry because your website isn't the first hit for "consultant"? Providing a generic feedback form is kind of hard to manage when you are growing like Google is.
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I think the paint faded on "Don't Be Evil" as the brand crossed the Great Wall into China.
I agree. I have been concerned about this, also. Wikipedia is not budging on their stance that they must not be censored in any way (I listened to Jimmy Wales give the keynote at an event last week and discuss this topic). I hoped that Google would head down this path. They've caved on this issue because they think they will be able to make a bigger difference if they are in China instead of being blocked. I can't help but think this might be a bit of a financial decision, though.
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#297040 - 19/05/2007 03:13
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: jimhogan]
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old hand
Registered: 23/07/2003
Posts: 869
Loc: Colorado
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#297041 - 19/05/2007 03:24
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: jimhogan]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 20/01/2002
Posts: 2085
Loc: New Orleans, LA
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Haha, if you think emailing them is hard, try contacting them by phone sometime.
We had an amnesty deal at work where if you had an attachment out for your arrest for an unpaid parking ticket, you could pay the ticket without having to pay attachment fines. One of the higher ups thought it would be a good idea to list every person's name and address that had an attachment on a series of web pages, sorted by last name, so it would be easier to check and see if YOU had an attachment you didn't know about. It was public record anyway, so they didn't see a problem with it.
3 months went by and the program was concluded. Then we got a call from a lady that was mortified that her contact info was easily searchable in google. Since the pages did not require an logon, and since the genius that put up the page didn't tell the spiders not to cache it, her name was stuck in google's cached pages, along with her home address.
What makes this a big deal is that she was a victim in a spousal abuse case, and was currently hiding from her ex. Now, google has a tool to wipe http sites from their cache, but it's broken when you try to kill an https page. I called for 3 days and could get NOONE but extremely basic tech support, who had no idea how to get a hold of anyone with any power. Thankfully, the cached pages expired without her ex seeing them, or we could have been on the hook for a lawsuit that we should have, and probably would have, lost.
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#297042 - 19/05/2007 03:48
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: lectric]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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Haha, if you think emailing them is hard, try contacting them by phone sometime.
We had an amnesty deal at work where if you had an attachment out for your arrest for an unpaid parking ticket, you could pay the ticket without having to pay attachment fines. One of the higher ups thought it would be a good idea to list every person's name and address that had an attachment on a series of web pages, sorted by last name, so it would be easier to check and see if YOU had an attachment you didn't know about. It was public record anyway, so they didn't see a problem with it.
3 months went by and the program was concluded. Then we got a call from a lady that was mortified that her contact info was easily searchable in google. Since the pages did not require an logon, and since the genius that put up the page didn't tell the spiders not to cache it, her name was stuck in google's cached pages, along with her home address.
What makes this a big deal is that she was a victim in a spousal abuse case, and was currently hiding from her ex. Now, google has a tool to wipe http sites from their cache, but it's broken when you try to kill an https page. I called for 3 days and could get NOONE but extremely basic tech support, who had no idea how to get a hold of anyone with any power. Thankfully, the cached pages expired without her ex seeing them, or we could have been on the hook for a lawsuit that we should have, and probably would have, lost.
Holy farking Klaatu.
So, what's Morley Safer like in person?
_________________________
Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
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#297043 - 19/05/2007 12:35
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: lectric]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Out of curiosity, if it was a matter of public record then, doesn't it remain a matter of public record?
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
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#297044 - 19/05/2007 16:17
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: lectric]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31596
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Now, google has a tool to wipe http sites from their cache, but it's broken when you try to kill an https page. I called for 3 days and could get NOONE but extremely basic tech support
Even if you had found success with Google, they wouldn't be the only search database you'd need to clean.
Genie. Bottle.
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#297045 - 19/05/2007 17:15
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Genie. Bottle.
More like "Pee. Pool."
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
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#297046 - 22/05/2007 12:52
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: rob]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14491
Loc: Canada
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The UK site hasn't changed, but I much prefer the new US layout. It looks even cleaner than it did before, and it was already super cleany clean clean.
Rob
Could someone please remind me how to get Google to show the non-Canadian USA version for me here?
Thanks.
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#297047 - 22/05/2007 13:39
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: mlord]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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Could someone please remind me how to get Google to show the non-Canadian USA version for me here?
Doesn't http://google.com/ work ? From here http://google.co.uk/ takes me to the UK one, http://google.ca/ goes to the Canadian one and http://google.com/ goes to the US one.
_________________________
Remind me to change my signature to something more interesting someday
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#297048 - 22/05/2007 13:45
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: mlord]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2489
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Google.com takes me to .co.uk Try www.google.us - that takes me to the USA site.
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#297050 - 22/05/2007 17:14
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: andy]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14491
Loc: Canada
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Quote:
Quote:
Could someone please remind me how to get Google to show the non-Canadian USA version for me here?
Doesn't http://google.com/ work ? From here http://google.co.uk/ takes me to the UK one, http://google.ca/ goes to the Canadian one and http://google.com/ goes to the US one.
No, here google.com simply redirects to google.ca.
EDIT: Oops.. not now: they've changed it (today, since my original post here!) and now google.com takes me to the USA site.
Edited by mlord (22/05/2007 17:16)
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#297051 - 22/05/2007 21:22
Re: Supplementary Evil
[Re: wfaulk]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 20/01/2002
Posts: 2085
Loc: New Orleans, LA
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Out of curiosity, if it was a matter of public record then, doesn't it remain a matter of public record?
Funny thing, public record law... Just because a document is created by the government does not automatically make it a public record. There are plenty of cases of public records requests being denied. Public records may also be redacted to prevent sensitive information from being disseminated, even if the document as a whole is public record.
Personally, I'm a little unsure that what they did in the first place was proper. It's very personal information, posted in a very public way. Granted, 95% of us have our number and address in the phone book, but there are plenty of people that choose to pay for an unlisted number. I assume they have decent reasons.
Also, even if a record exists, it's disbursement can be denied unless the request is extremely specific. "I need the document entitled $%^& created on #$%." "I need all your records about #$%^& company" will not suffice. If a record does not exist "I need a list of all businesses that paid more than $10,000 in taxes last year" it does NOT have to be created. Requests MUST be made in person or in writing. Email does not count. It's very interesting to see how it all really works.
So no, I don't feel that particular case was public record. Ever. As to the pee already being in the pool, you're exactly right. There was nothing we could really do to undo the damage, we were just trying to get the biggest risk out of the way.
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