I'm pissed at YouTube (Google)

I have more than 1 gmail address.

One of them is associated with my YouTube account. Google owns YouTube.

If I click on a link to a YouTube video while I am signed into my google account, YouTube forcibly mandates that I associate my YouTube account with my real name (because Google has that info through my gmail account).

If I click on the same YouTube link when I am not signed in, no problem.

YouTube does NOT give me the option to choose to not associate my YouTube account with my real name. No settings, or choices that I can find.

I like the name I use on my YouTube account, and don't really want it to have my real name.

So, I am here to gripe a bit, and tell Google/ YouTube in the most polite terms I can, bite me.

That's weird. Mine recently asked me if I'd like to put my real name on my You Tube account. I said, uh, no thanks. No problem.

Lesley wrote: That's weird. Mine recently asked me if I'd like to put my real name on my You Tube account. I said, uh, no thanks. No problem.

Mine asks me every time I log in.

Solution - never use YouTube while logged in.

Huh. Haven't had that problem, the only thing that bugs me is their ongoing insistence that I link my mobile number with my gmail accounts 'so I can get a password by SMS'. Yeah, right. SUUUUURE that's what it's for. Sorry, I get ENOUGH text spam already. I just created another Gmail account and give them that, it mollifies the program for a little while.

Lesley wrote: That's weird. Mine recently asked me if I'd like to put my real name on my You Tube account. I said, uh, no thanks. No problem.

Same here. I chose not to because my real name is nowhere near as funny or as stupid as my account name.

Knurled wrote: Mine asks me every time I log in. Solution - never use YouTube while logged in.

Yep. That's what I do.

Still pissed.

Yep, does it to me as well. Not all the time but it happens. You end up in what seems like an endless stream of bullE36 M3.

and to think.. some people willingly give them that info

SVreX wrote: Still pissed.

You have every right to be mad. You should ask for your money back immediately.

mad_machine wrote: and to think.. some people willingly give them that info

And that's why it happens. Somewhere out there, there must be folks who fall for the Nigerian scammers too.

Possible stupid question. Why do people use g-mail accounts? My ISP lets me set up as many as 5 e-mail accounts. I can access them from anywhere I have internet access.

Hal wrote: Possible stupid question. Why do people use g-mail accounts? My ISP lets me set up as many as 5 e-mail accounts. I can access them from anywhere I have internet access.

Storage space, excellent spam filters (I get maybe 3 or 4 spam emails a year it seems), and integration with the rest of Google (Drive and my Android phone, for example).

^^This^^

In reply to Hal (or others):

Possible stupid question... Why shouldn't people use gmail accounts?

I have unlimited email accounts through my ISP since I host my own domains but I still use Gmail as the front end for those accounts because they do have a nice simple interface (through which I can view all my accounts at one time) and a great spam filter.

Yup, it's hard to beat the Google spam filter.

BTW, if you say "yes" to YouTube associating your real name with your account (I have no problem with that, just like I have no problem attaching my name to my statements in forums), it's really code for "sign me up for Google+". And there's no way out after that - if you cut Google+, YouTube will delete your videos. So I can't really recommend it.

Curmudgeon wrote: Huh. Haven't had that problem, the only thing that bugs me is their ongoing insistence that I link my mobile number with my gmail accounts 'so I can get a password by SMS'. Yeah, right. SUUUUURE that's what it's for. Sorry, I get ENOUGH text spam already. I just created another Gmail account and give them that, it mollifies the program for a little while.

Actually that's how their two-factor authentication works and it's highly recommended to make use of that as someone would need to have both your password and your phone to log in/hijack your Google account.

I've had this set up for quite a while now and no text spam from Google.

i don't trust anything google does...

and yet i carry around a phone that is powered by Droid..

Curmudgeon wrote: Huh. Haven't had that problem, the only thing that bugs me is their ongoing insistence that I link my mobile number with my gmail accounts 'so I can get a password by SMS'. Yeah, right. SUUUUURE that's what it's for. Sorry, I get ENOUGH text spam already. I just created another Gmail account and give them that, it mollifies the program for a little while.

Google has known my phone number for years now, I get zero text spam. I guess Google Voice uses the same anti-spam tech as Gmail.

I don't expect text spam from Google if I give them my mobile number.

I expect them to utilize the GPS characteristics of the phone, and begin associating my whereabouts with my account so they can optimize their advertising. Don't want that either.

They are too smart to resort to text spam.

Keith Tanner wrote: Yup, it's hard to beat the Google spam filter. BTW, if you say "yes" to YouTube associating your real name with your account (I have no problem with that, just like I have no problem attaching my name to my statements in forums), it's really code for "sign me up for Google+". And there's no way out after that - if you cut Google+, YouTube will delete your videos. So I can't really recommend it.

I said yes, I got signed up for Google+ and you know what? Google+ just sits there. I dont' use it. i dont have any conections on it, i don't use the services it offers. it's simply not aproblem to have it. I don't care about targeted advertising as i simply... ignore it.

I get no targeted advertising on my android phone, nor do i get it in my gmail account.

I really don't see what the fuss is about. It's a free service that misses it's mark in advertising to me, yet I still get to use (and to answer the other question above, I use gmail as I can use it regardless of what ISP I have for webhosting, and I've had a number of them in the last decade. Gmail simply stays with me, even if my ISP changes, like, say, from Comcast to Verizon to Go Daddy, to 1&1...)

SVreX wrote: I expect them to utilize the GPS characteristics of the phone, and begin associating my whereabouts with my account so they can optimize their advertising. Don't want that either.

There's a few more steps from "having your number" to "tracking you with the GPS."

I'm an old curmudgeon, I don't give my cell number to ANYONE unless there is a specific need. I figure at some point Google will peddle my info to someone, same as Amazon has done, along with Time Warner Cable and the local electric co-op. How do I know this? Purposeful misspellings. Google already has all the info they need on me, they can kiss my ass for that phone number.

Curmudgeon wrote: Huh. Haven't had that problem, the only thing that bugs me is their ongoing insistence that I link my mobile number with my gmail accounts 'so I can get a password by SMS'. Yeah, right. SUUUUURE that's what it's for. Sorry, I get ENOUGH text spam already. I just created another Gmail account and give them that, it mollifies the program for a little while.

They won't text-spam you, but to get past the warning you just close the tab and log back in again, you won't be asked again for a month or so. Then just repeat.

As for the YouTube thing, you could create a new Google account for the sole purpose of associating with the YouTube account.

I keep all my Google-related browsing separate from everything else by basically using separate browsers. You can use Multifox or a Chrome incognito window to get that effect. My Gmail and Google Reader are "sandboxed" from the rest of my browsing where I'm logged out of Google.

Although they try to get around that with referer links too...seems that they only do it if you're logged in from North America though.

Chris_V wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: Yup, it's hard to beat the Google spam filter. BTW, if you say "yes" to YouTube associating your real name with your account (I have no problem with that, just like I have no problem attaching my name to my statements in forums), it's really code for "sign me up for Google+". And there's no way out after that - if you cut Google+, YouTube will delete your videos. So I can't really recommend it.

I said yes, I got signed up for Google+ and you know what? Google+ just sits there. I dont' use it. i dont have any conections on it, i don't use the services it offers. it's simply not aproblem to have it. I don't care about targeted advertising as i simply... ignore it. I get no targeted advertising on my android phone, nor do i get it in my gmail account. I really don't see what the fuss is about. It's a free service that misses it's mark in advertising to me, yet I still get to use (and to answer the other question above, I use gmail as I can use it regardless of what ISP I have for webhosting, and I've had a number of them in the last decade. Gmail simply stays with me, even if my ISP changes, like, say, from Comcast to Verizon to Go Daddy, to 1&1...)

Agreed. Other than yet another social networking service trying to hook me up with other people and sending me emails that Billy Bob has joined Google+ and wants to add you to his circle, it hasn't shown to be terribly intrusive.

What bothered me is that it's a one-way street. It's not made clear what's going to happen, and once you've signed up you have no way out again unless you want to delete everything.

Hal wrote: Possible stupid question. Why do people use g-mail accounts? My ISP lets me set up as many as 5 e-mail accounts. I can access them from anywhere I have internet access.

What happens when you switch ISPs or move?