Week 57 of POOP

Yes, I've neglected this feature lately, but that's because Google has opted to take its arrogance and irresponsibility so deep that there was simply little else to go with it.

But now I've discovered that just a few weeks ago, the "Google Groups Team" posted a message in its help forums saying that - well, its help forums are no more. Not like they were worth shit anyway. Titled "Important Message About This Forum", the post declares:

"After careful review of this group, we've realized that most of the questions posted here are either duplicate questions or questions answered in our help center. As a result, we’ve decided to archive the group."

Bullshit. The reason they've closed their help forum is because they just didn't feel like answering questions people had. The reason there were "duplicate questions" is that Google never answered them in the help forums, so people kept reposting them. Furthermore, these questions were never answered in the help center either.

So Google lied.

This message directs folks to Google's so-called help center. If you wade shoulder-deep in crap, you can find that they've finally added a layer that deigns to answer the long-running questions about how people can remove their own posts that Google keeps using without their permission. The answer spouts the same mumbo-jumbo that Google has vomited for the past year: It says you need a court order to delete your own posts.

That's another lie. As you know, Google used to have an online form that let you delete your own posts that you made with obsolete accounts. That proves you don't need a court order at all. Google owns YouTube, which accepts fourth-party DMCA takedown notices from corporations with no court order - so Google is lying.

In summary, Google recently got rid of its help forum because they thought it was easier to do this than to keep being embarrassed by their own refusal to answer users' questions. Then it refused to provide a real solution to what may have been the most pressing inquiry.

There ought to be a law. Congress or the states need to pass legislation requiring Google to restore users' control over their own copyrighted posts. As it stands right now, Google shows no respect for either privacy or copyrights.

We shouldn't have to legislate common sense, but remember, we're dealing with idiots.