[reblog from Kaia] Some Advice From IT Professionals on How to Handle the Latest Goodreads Shenanigans

Note: I bolded some things that I think are particularly worth pointing out - it's all mine, not Kaia's. I also think it's reprehensible that they even think that they can intimidate a smaller site by pushing the idea on members (who are already skittish about their data right now) that they have nowhere but Goodreads for their reviews. They're pissed that people are pulling reviews - and talking about it - so they're trying to undermine our feelings of safety here. I personally trust Dawid and BookLikes haven't done a single malicious, ill-intentioned or even accidental thing to my reviews. Any bug, deletion (if there ever were any at all) or misappropriation of my reviews came from Goodreads' end. I don't trust them anymore, period.

 

On the other hand, Dawid has made himself available to us when we have concerns. He hasn't ducked out of answering specific questions regarding policy, BL is willing to develop new features tailored to user interest and he and his team seem to be remarkably responsive, quickly when something like this breaks. I know who's earned my loyalty right now. ~ Barbara

 

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As I mentioned in an earlier post, my husband is a programmer. He works for an international company with a high bar for its IT staff. 

 

I ran GR's latest nonsense--their claim that Booklikes is causing Goodreads content to be deleted--past him, and the verdict is that this is actually probably GR's fault. More than likely is has to do with flaws in their API code that are more like security holes than features. Other sites should never be able to delete GR user content. The fact that it may have somehow happened indicates that the blame lies with Goodreads, and they're trying to use Booklikes as a scapegoat.

 

My husband also ran this past his colleagues, who agreed that there's only one way to handle this:

 

Run. Pack up your shit and get the hell out of dodge, because Goodreads is not a site you can trust. Their API code is a mess and they're trying to blame it on someone else so they don't have to take responsibility for exposing their user base to potential security breaches. The best thing you can do for yourself is jump ship.

 

I'm appalled at Goodreads' behavior. Their lack of professionalism and unwillingness to take responsibility for their mistakes is horrifying. They're a shit snowball rolling down a hill and with each new fuck up, the mess gets uglier and uglier. Find a place that respects you as a user, a place that doesn't try to censor you and doesn't think you're an idiot who can't see through their bullshit. That place is not Goodreads. 

 

 

Source: http://kaia.booklikes.com/post/576471/some-advice-from-it-professionals-on-how-to-handle-the-latest-goodreads-shenanigans