Google Restores Suspended Pseudonymous Plus Profile -- Then Sends Owner Contradictory E-mail (WTF+ )

Google just reinstated the pseudonymous account of "Botgirl Questi", the avatar name of a well-known Second Life blogger whose account was frozen last week. This doesn't necessarily mean Google is allowing pseudonymous accounts now, but it definitely suggests the company's policy and behavior around them is laden with WTF. Because shortly after restoring the account, David Elfanbaum (Botgirl's RL owner) received an e-mail from Google support, repeating the prohibition of pseudonym-based accounts. (Like the one Google just reinstated, with, you know, Botgirl Questi.)

Still more WTF: Elfanbaum isn't even sure why the account was revived:

"I edited my profile on Friday to stress my credibility in the [Profile] introduction," he tells me, "and clicked the link on the profile page to resubmit the amended profile. So my guess is that one person reviewed the updated profile and thought it was within their guidelines. And a different person responded to the e-mail with a different opinion."

Last week, Elbanbaum also sent an e-mail to the company, arguing, "Botgirl Questi is the name I'm best known by and most commonly use in daily life. Out of the many hundreds of people I consider to be friends, 95% of them know me by that name. As far as I can tell, this is in accordance with your policy. If not, please provide details and be clear about what needs to change." So either that e-mail or the profile change did the trick. Or maybe it's just as flies to wanton boys are we pseudonyms to the Google gods, they kill us for their sport. (Like Shakespeare supposedly wrote, but then again, who knows if he really did? After all, that dude lived way before Facebook.)

Comments

[Rainyday Superstar]

I was banned, reviewed, allowed back and banned again after making one post. After the second suspension I lost access to everything Google except gmail and chat. They deleted all my Buzz posts and most of my Picasa pics. The closest thing to a response I have received from them is a form letter saying my name violated the community standard. All I want is my profile restored to the way it was before they invited me to G+. If they didn't want us there they shouldn't have invited us. Nowhere in the TOS does it say anything about being cut off from other services or data deletion.

[Senban Babii]

This is exactly why I won't join Google+. There's too much of an element of putting all your eggs in one basket and then it turns out that someone else controls the basket.