Althouse: "If nitecruzr is just some random dude with no connection to Google, how does he have the ability to flag your account for calling him rude and unprofessional?"

May 14, 2011

"If nitecruzr is just some random dude with no connection to Google, how does he have the ability to flag your account for calling him rude and unprofessional?"

Patterico gets to the root of things!

46 comments:

windbag said...: curiouser and curiouser...; 5/14/11, 7:50 PM
Trooper York said...: Well let's keep this thing in perspective.

You managed to restore the link to my blog. That's all that matters.; 5/14/11, 7:50 PM
Rit said...: When a company tells you that their motto is to not be evil that should actually tell you all you need to know.; 5/14/11, 7:53 PM
Warren Terra said...: Fer heaven's sake. It is completely normal in tech support forums for dedicated enthusiasts to haunt the forums habitually, to write dozens or hundreds or thousands of replies to questions, and to be rewarded for their efforts by the software with various privileges. The most obvious and most basic of these is that in many forums you are given a title based on the number of posts you've made. Often, you are also given some sort of gold star, just like in kindergarten, if your posts have frequently been uprated by their readers. And, yes, people who spend a lot of time in a forum and are (on the basis of uprating) highly regarded by other users of that forum can receive privileges and powers as volunteer moderators of the forum. This has been the case since AOL, even since Compuserve, and probably before that, though of course it's rather more automated now.

This poor schmuck Nitecruzr apparently dedicates an enormous amount of time and energy to being helpful, as he sees it, on the Blogger support forums. He's written entire manuals about dealing with problems with Blogger, and from his initial posts in Althouse's thread I'd guess that he has canned helpful responses that he posts when he spots a "my blog has disappeared" thread - heck, he probably does so dozens of times every day.

Were there problems of miscommunication, and some heated words? Sure. But on both sides. This is completely understandable - Althouse had seemingly lost her blog, an apparent loss of such magnitude that anyone could be forgiven shrieking rants and the destruction of furniture. And Nitecruzr is, let us not forget, the sort of person who writes manuals about Blogger and haunts their support forums, for fun and in place of other social interactions.

But the incredible misrepresentations of Nitecruzr's actions, the malicious investigation of their real-world identity, and now the absurd insinuations that they have a relationship with Google beyond the sort seen with volunteer habituates of countless other online forums - all of that is completely unworthy of any self-respecting online community.; 5/14/11, 7:56 PM
rhhardin said...: Nitecrawler is not as interesting as whether Google restores your blog posts.; 5/14/11, 7:58 PM
Karl said...: So... in turn for google to host your blog for "free", you've got to
(1) deal with an outage that spans a couple of days
(2) interface with a tool - handle of "nitecruzr" - who has control issues.
(3)become orgasmatic when you get finally get near to the level of customer service provided by your cell phone carrier

Not worth it.

Time to pay for legit hosting. While I am pretty much taxed enough, I would be OK with paying a reasonable amount for interesting content.; 5/14/11, 8:00 PM
shiloh said...: Maybe Obama should appoint a special prosecutor ...

Presidential Commission?

Internet task force ~ notify Al Gore and leave no stone unturned!; 5/14/11, 8:04 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Sometimes I get the feeling that "Teh Interwebs" is nothing more than a giant version of high school.....except that the nerds, like nitecruzer have suddenly siezed the power.

They are just as nasty, mean, vindictive and small minded as the jocks and cheerleader squads who tormented the geeks and nerd squad types, when in high school.

Sometimes......everything changes and NOTHING changes.

/sigh; 5/14/11, 8:19 PM
Karl said...: Chuck Croll. -AKA nitecruzr - is on "Facebook". What ever that is. My kids are into that. I call it Fsck-book just to be down with it.
Nobody wants cool parents.; 5/14/11, 8:30 PM
edutcher said...: Interesting all the Lefties try to dismiss this as "paranoia", despite plenty of evidence otherwise.

But that's the way they work. Without evidence of something like Journolist, charges that the Lefties worked in concert to slant the news were always dismissed as "paranoia".

To paraphrase George Crook, you're on a hot trail and that's how you'll get to the bottom of this.; 5/14/11, 8:33 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Chuck Croll. -AKA nitecruzr - is on "Facebook". What ever that is. My kids are into that. I call it Fsck-book just to be down with it.Nobody wants cool parents."

Everyone's in Facebook. It's not "cool" to be in Facebook. That's like trying to believe it's cool to shop at Target. It's just a normal convenience that everyone knows about and everyone can use. Wake up to reality.; 5/14/11, 8:36 PM
David Smith said...: Anyone who's organized a concert knows that you never give the security job to the guys who volunteer to work security.

That's a lesson that Google doesn't seem to have learned.

If my account gets flagged, I'll let you know.; 5/14/11, 8:42 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: I got that same message [asking for my cell phone number] last evening when I made a comment at Althouse.

But I refused to enter my phone number so I just hit the "continue" button and I got thru the process.

At the time, I viewed it as an innocuous and standard attempt by a business to extract more info from a potential customer. I still do but don't blame some here for thinking it was sinister plot worthy.; 5/14/11, 8:47 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I got that same message [asking for my cell phone number] last evening when I made a comment at Althouse.

Me too.

I don't have a cell phone and if I did, I certainly wouldn't give it to Google so that they could spam my cell phone and make me pay for it.; 5/14/11, 8:51 PM
1775OGG said...: Sounds like Google has got some decisions to make about how it operates and what requirements it in fact places on its users, like especially those like our dear blogger Althouse.

The question isn't just Blogger and this disgraceful event, the one that took down Althouse, but instead Google's plan to take over the Universe. I use an Android cell phone and while it's great how long before Google takes a side trip. But who knows where Google goes. Interesting and frustrating too.

Thie event with Althouse is a marker and will do much to show us what Google plans for all of us.

Or, do we now bow down and submit? TBD.; 5/14/11, 8:53 PM
Wince said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/14/11, 8:55 PM
Karl said...: Everyone's in facebook? For fscks sake. Who would have thought?

Perhaps you should "friend" Chuck Croll. He's got a thing for your blog.

Meanwhile, I will remain a f-book Luddite.
I will wait another 18 months and jump on the next new thing... which promises to be way cooler & totaly transformational.; 5/14/11, 8:58 PM
Wince said...: Goggle Motto: "Don't be Evil"

Althouse, on Google and nitecruzr.; 5/14/11, 8:58 PM
pst314 said...: Ann, Any word on when Google will restore your archives?; 5/14/11, 8:59 PM
pst314 said...: Rit 7:53 PM "When a company tells you that their motto is to not be evil that should actually tell you all you need to know."

Sort of like "Peoples Democratic Republic"?; 5/14/11, 9:00 PM
nobodygivesacrap said...: This comment is a test. I got locked out of Gmail for criticizing Google. Details here:

http://patterico.com/2011/05/14/dont-let-google-off-the-hook-evidence-aplenty-that-cretin-nitecruzr-represents-google-and-even-has-the-ability-to-flag-your-google-account/; 5/14/11, 9:05 PM
MikeR said...: By the way, Ann, welcome back!

I had a weird impression that you were "at" Glenn Reynold's blog, and you would "have to stay there" till your blog would be restored. "Well, that's the last time I ever set foot outside my blog!"; 5/14/11, 9:06 PM
Palladian said...: "Everyone's in Facebook"

I'm not in Facebook.

And I've gotten those "verify your account" messages periodically for months. It's Google wanting more data, is all. You don't have to do it to use your account. Let's not get carried away with the conspiracy theories.; 5/14/11, 9:20 PM
nobodygivesacrap said...: You don't have to do it to use your account, huh?

Then tell me how to get back into Gmail without giving my cell phone number.

-- Patterico; 5/14/11, 9:23 PM
Palladian said...: Hmm, it must be a different thing than the one I get, because mine allows me to click "continue" without a phone number. My apologies.

One thing is clear... Google wants everyone's phone number.

Oh, and not everyone is on Facebook.; 5/14/11, 9:31 PM
1775OGG said...: nitecruzr, aka Chuck Croll, by another name would be just as foul and odorous too. Maybe this tripe should be called "Mr. Goggle?" Of course, what's his net worth? Oops, does he have a net worth of something greater than slime?

Althouse: Google has got its decisions to make, and so do you regarding where your blog is hosted. Cheers, good luck, and stay alert, for nut cases like nitecruzr really do exist; not just imaginary monsters "under the bed!"; 5/14/11, 9:35 PM
Corky Boyd said...: nitecruzr is the reason we have anti-trust laws.

And patterico is finding that too. His Gmail is turned off and he has to jump through hoops to get it reactivated. In the meantime he is out of contact snd can't even retrieve his correspondence. What an arrogant bunch of thugs!

Ann, your best bet is to contacct your US congressman. Google is grossly unresponsive. A call from your congressman's office to Google's Washington office will do wonders. Count on it.; 5/14/11, 9:38 PM
Bob Ellison said...: 'Everyone's in Facebook. It's not "cool" to be in Facebook. That's like trying to believe it's cool to shop at Target. It's just a normal convenience that everyone knows about and everyone can use. Wake up to reality.'

Professor, once again you're thirty seconds behind reality. FB has jumped the shark. Not everyone needs or deserves a blog about clipping toenails.

WV: facyt; 5/14/11, 9:47 PM
Alex said...: Maybe Obama should appoint a special prosecutor ...

Presidential Commission?

Internet task force ~ notify Al Gore and leave no stone unturned!

Must shiloh mock everything? I wonder if he bothered reading the transcripts between Ann & Blogger.; 5/14/11, 10:34 PM
EnigmatiCore said...: It's just a normal convenience that everyone knows about and everyone can use. Wake up to reality.

Interestingly, at least to me, is the fact that this is precisely how I felt about Google until yesterday afternoon and evening.; 5/14/11, 10:38 PM
EnigmatiCore said...: Actually, I have decided I no longer want to use any of Google's free services, when it can be avoided.

Peeps, it's been fun. But bye.; 5/14/11, 10:47 PM
shiloh said...: I wonder if he bothered reading the transcripts between Ann & Blogger.

Yes, that's what brought me back for a few days as AA's whining, hyperbolic narcissism is legendary.

But her faux victimhood wears thin quickly. Good for a couple laughs, but not much else.

Flood victims down South feel her pain ...; 5/14/11, 10:52 PM
Allan said...: Anyone giving their telephone number to Google must be out of their mind.

It would be on the level of responding to a Nigerian scam letter.; 5/15/11, 12:15 AM
Allan said...: It will be comforting to know
that anyone who has the authority
to lock you out of your g-mail
no doubt also has the authority
to read your g-mail.; 5/15/11, 12:23 AM
Issob Morocco said...: HAL does not like Nitecruzr. HAL is looking for a solution to Nitecruzr. Chuck do you like HAL?; 5/15/11, 8:42 AM
Stosh2 said...: Looks like nitecruzr is the new Lilly Tomlin and Google is the new phone company *snuk*; 5/15/11, 9:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Unlike in Patterico's case, I got the normal request for a mobile phone number when I signed in again to Google.

BUT

What on earth do they want your mobile number for? Telemarketing? To give it to the government? Creepy.; 5/15/11, 9:44 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: It will be comforting to know
that anyone who has the authority
to lock you out of your g-mail
no doubt also has the authority
to read your g-mail.

Since I use my Gmail accounts exclusively for spam type of commercial emails, I hope the nosy Googleites are sufficiently bored.

Unless they are interested in knitting, sewing, painting, quilting, cooking, music, updates from online gaming companies and shopping for shoes, it will be a real snooze fest.; 5/15/11, 10:23 AM
somefeller said...: I'm late to this discussion, but whatever the reason for the Google/Blogger outage, I'm sorry to see it happened. I've got a fair amount of good insults, condescending comments and brilliant commentary that may have been lost here. But seriously, hope it gets fixed.

And if part of the problem is the ability for unpaid volunteers at Google to mess with Google user accounts for mercurial reasons, that may be the bigger problem that needs to be looked at. And let this be an object lesson in the concept that big government isn't the only institution in society that can make your life unpleasant.; 5/15/11, 10:58 AM
Big Mike said...: nitecruzr couldn't work for me. An episode like this would get him a visit to my office for counseling, with a letter of reprimand for his permanent personnel file and reassignment to some task where he would no longer interface with customers.

But the root cause seems to be that Google made a change to its software that was significant, but was not adequately tested. Nor did it occur to anyone that to retain adequate backups to support rollback to the configuration prior to the change.

"Unprofessional" does not begin to cover it.; 5/15/11, 11:13 AM
autothreads said...: For Cars In Depth I decided to go with Wordpress and host it on my own space that I already pay for at Hostrocket (highly recommended, small company so you actually talk to someone who can solve your problem).

Google is very unresponsive in general. Adsense bots keep coming up with different reasons why I can't sign my site up with them and Google support forums are useless because Google prefers to rely on bots.; 5/15/11, 11:47 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Only Patterico gets to decide who is posing racist questions, or picking unfairly on the police, or making death threats, or not. Ask Robert Stacy McCain, Radley Balko, or Jeff Goldstein about that. Who does Google think it is?; 5/15/11, 12:11 PM
Fred4Pres said...: As for nitecruzr, he should be an Administrator at Wikipedia. Given his demostated narcissitic anal retentive mendacity, he would fit in quite well there.

Of course he probably has a nice chunk of google stock, so who is laughing more?; 5/15/11, 12:17 PM
Bayoneteer said...: I hope you leave just so that I won't have to look at those awful anti-meat ads that Google puts right up front of every post.; 5/15/11, 6:16 PM
ed said...: Hmmmm.

@ Althouse

HostingMatters is offering unlimited disk space and monthly throughput for $11/month. Seriously. It's called the "Anniversary Special".

You do realize Althouse that this could happen again and again and again right? Just because you get your blog back doesn't mean that you can keep it if the lefty tools keep marking you down as a spam blog.

Frankly I don't like your politics or opinions. I don't care for your voting for Obama and now that it has blown up into a disaster trying to evade responsibility for it. Every conservative spent time and effort telling you what a disaster Obama would be and you ignored them.

But keeping yourself under Google's thumb? Are you out of your mind?; 5/15/11, 7:45 PM
reformed trucker said...: "Everyone's in Facebook."

I'm not. I thought that was for teenage girls with no life. Besides, what use is playing Farmsville? I have limited free time; I would rather brew beer or read Althouse. You know, important things...; 5/15/11, 10:02 PM