Go to the show (a resolution)
I’m overdue posting about my New Year’s resolution, but better late than never I suppose. (Good thing I didn’t resolve to blog regularly, I guess.) I’ve had good luck in recent years with vague resolutions that attempt to adjust my attitude. I think it was 2007 or 2008 when I said “never turn down an...
Written? Kitten!
Seems like everyone around me is either doing NaNoWriMo or is in the throes of fannish holiday exchanges. I refuse to make any writing commitments at present, but that doesn’t mean I’m not sympathetic to those that have them. And so… This afternoon, my housemate Emily and I made Written? Kitten! It’s more or less...
Announcement: I’ve changed my name to Alex Bayley
I’m not sure how to post this in a way that’s not awkward, so here it is: as of last week, I have legally changed my name to “Alex Bayley”. The recent Google+ names debacle was the catalyst, but not the underlying reason, for this change. When Google insisted that I use my previous wallet...
Status update
Just spamming this to a few places, apologies if you see it multiple times in your feeds. I’ve landed in Melbourne and I’m staying with a friend and starting to settle in. There’s lots of paperwork to re-establish myself (phone, bank, other bank, Medicare… ugh, so much.) And then there’s been the beginning of househunting...
Skud vs. Google+, round two
Today, two weeks since I was first suspended from Google+ and just over a week since I was blackholed in their so-called customer support system, I submitted a fresh request for review via the form linked on my suspended profile page. The name I was using: Kirrily “Skud” Robert Evidence I provided: links to about...
Google+ names policy, explained
I’ve been talking to anyone and everyone about what’s going on with Google+’s names policy, and thought it was well past time to write up my best understanding of the situation. I was going to say “I’m no expert”, but actually, I probably know more about this than just about anyone outside of Google (and...
An update on my Google Plus suspension
I’ve been updating this post as I hear anything from Google Profiles Support, most recently three days ago (Thursday 28th July). However, that post’s getting long, and I keep having people ask me what’s going on, or why I don’t do X or haven’t I considered Y, so I thought I’d post a summary/update. The...
Google is gagging user advocates
So, I’ve mentioned that while I was at Google (until July 15th) I disagreed strongly with the Google+ names policy. I wasn’t the only one, but of course those who still work for Google need to be careful not to criticise their employer, so they’re being fairly careful about what they say online. Take Liz...
Wanna buy my shit?
So this is the first of what will probably be many relocation logistics posts. Right now, I’m looking for people to take some furniture and other items off my hands. The following are available for pickup in San Francisco. With regard to price, just make me an offer. Anything halfway reasonable will probably be fine....
Preliminary results of my survey of suspended Google+ accounts
The other day I posted a call for people who have had their accounts suspended by Google for name-related reasons to fill in this form. I’ve received over a hundred responses so far (N=119), so it’s time to start talking about the results. Firstly, 74% of respondents are using the name that most people know...
More comments on Google+ and names
I’ve been seeing a lot of the same things get asked/said repeatedly so I thought I’d cover a few of them here. “Why not just change your Google+ name to Kirrily Robert? That would get your account reinstated.” Honestly, if Google’s support people tell me that’s what I need to do, I will do so....
I’ve been suspended from Google+
So, just to backtrack and fill everyone in on the details: I’ve been a strong advocate of pseudonymity for a considerable time. Hacker News and pseudonymity is a good example of my writing on the subject, from June last year. The startup I worked for was acquired by Google in July 2010. I left Google...
