In the wake of recent insights about the deception occurring even as I type by the founders of Diaspora, I finally decided to close my account and remove my information; you know, just like they say I can.
Well, guess what? Not only is it impossible, it looks like they don’t even bother trying.
Oh, and they lock your account so you can’t get back in and delete it all yourself.
These folks make Facebook and Google look good, it seems. (And you know that’s not me saying that Facebook and Google are good.)
I exported my XML file and choose to close my account. Going by all the statements to date, my expectations were that upon doing this, Diaspora would:
- Remove all posts, comments, images, and likes I have posted.
- Remove my profile page.
Instead, I find that, in reality:
- Nothing was removed.
- My profile page and all content is still present.
Not only this, but my account is frozen; I cannot log back in to remove it myself.
Don’t believe me? See for yourself:
- Visit my public profile and content stream at: https://joindiaspora.com/u/blnadri
- Review the two images below; the first is what I receive when I attempt to get back into the account to remove my content (since it seems Diaspora cannot be bothered to do so), and the second is the screenshot of the preceding link as of the time of writing this post.
Frankly, if I needed any more proof that this is a slipshod and immature group of “business people” who, apparently, cannot even manage to do the things they claim make them “better” and “different” than Facebook, Google, etc, this definitely provides it.
I suppose I should have known this would be the way of it; silly me. Guess it’s just another lesson learned. But I’ll tell you who I do feel badly for – the people who remain hoodwinked, the people who are actually DONATING, and the people who are still (as I once did) entrusting this group of “founders” to manage “better” and “different”.
Shame on you, Maxwell Salzberg, Sarah Mei, and Daniel Grippi. Shame on you for telling us you had this in place when you knew damn well you didn’t, shame on you for begging money from your users knowing full well that you don’t have the manpower to possibly do more than this half-arsed job at growing and leading the community (be they developers or users!), shame on you for driving off so many people (now including myself) who have tried and tried to help you, advise you, and give you time and expertise only to be rebuffed, rebuked, and run out for not being willing to sell out choice, privacy, and security.
