aaron@traas.org

The home of Aaron Traas — man of faith, science, and very bad humor

Today, Google announced an enhancement to Google+ and Gmail that I think is a step too far.

It sounds innocuous and even helpful. If you use both Gmail and Google+, people who can see your Google+ profile will soon be able to email you directly from your profile. It's handy, because you don't need to manage your own list of contacts; if you can encounter the person on Google+, you can send them a message.

Some people have objected on basis of privacy violations:

This is a fucking mess. Google just made it really easy for strangers to email you https://t.co/uX4gQHmr3i

—Joshua Topolsky (@joshuatopolsky) January 9, 2014

This is my primary objection to Facebook, and why I've refused to use it as a medium for communication: it has become the primary mode of exchange between a large percentage of people. To many friends and family, Facebook is the Internet, and they never leave it's walled garden. They coordinate events and meetups exclusively on Facebook, and thus people without a Facebook account are barred from entry into these events. I literally haven't heard from many of these people in 6 or more years; they no longer use email or SMS.

I'm not arguing that de facto protocols should never change, be augmented, or be replaced. I argue that the primary channels of communication must remain open. Facebook is not Open. Google+ is not open. I cannot make an implementation of Facebook myself, and communicate with Facebook via published protocols. Google+ is no different. Gmail, a proprietary product that adds functionality on top of email, enables me to communicate to users of Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, or any other service that implements the Simple Mail Transport Protocol defined in RFC 821 in 1982. But if Google is trying to direct people away from using email addresses, and instead make Gmail the messaging tool for Google+ users, I want out.

This is going to be a long process. I rely on Gmail for all https://traas.org email for my family. I rely on Google Calandar to keep my family organized. I'm using Blogger to write this blog post. I use Google+ to complain about gadgets. I use Google Drive to store and edit documents and notes. I use Google Voice to have a portable phone number and voicemail that isn't crap. I buy a new Android phone every year.

Google+ and Blogger will be the first to go. I've already disabled the Google+ comments on this blog. I'll be looking to migrate to something Python/Markdown based for blogging. On Google+, I will remove all my circles and posts. I will use it as an identity to improve the SEO of my website, and nothing more.

I won't be leaving Android, because there is no other open-sourced mobile OS that's gained any traction. I will minimize my use of Google services on the platform, to aide in my ability to switch to a different platform if one arises. iOS is not an option for me. I find the walls of its garden too high.

Gmail will be tough. Real tough. It offers a number of features that are non-negotiable, including great filtering, labels instead of folders, two-factor authentication, and first-class Android and iOS apps. I don't know what I'm going to do here. I'd like to switch to something that makes PGP easier, if possible.

I'm not surprised. Google canned XMPP support when they rebranded Google Talk as Hangouts. I understand extending the protocol to add capability; that's healthy. But not maintaining compatibility with a protocol used by a lot of platforms and blessed by the IETF as a mechanism of interchange between instant messaging frameworks is negligent at best, and hostile at worst. I accepted, once they did that, that they would eventually cross one line too far.

Keyboard Shortcuts

?
Show/hide help
Right
Select right-hand menu
Up
Next menu item
Down
Previous menu item
Left
De-select right-hand menu