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The problem I see with user-defined groups implementation is conversations. If I share an item with my "work friends" group, and someone replies to it, who can

The problem I see with user-defined groups implementation is conversations. If I share an item with my "work friends" group, and someone replies to it, who can see the reply? Is it only my work friends, or can the replier choose others to expose her reply to? What about people in my work friends list that she doesn't know or follow or is followed by? This already sort of happens in Google Reader. Sometimes I comment on something a friend shares, and some random person I don't know will reply to my comment. It's not terrible, but it is unclear and kind of destroys the sense of a private place/conversation. I think the solution is have discrete "places" instead of multiple lists that interact in increasingly complex and unclear ways.

jokermatt999 15y ago
In Google Reader, comments on items are visible to everyone that can see the item. Edit: this is meant merely to inform, not judge how it is or should be.
- joebadmo 15y ago
  Right, but that still leaves me not having any idea who can see my comments. Which is fine in Google Reader because I don't expect any level of privacy there, but in Google+, esp. after having explicitly set up Circles, I might expect some level of privacy which doesn't include people outside of the Circle I'm commenting in being able to see my comments. With a "Place" metaphor, if you have a private place, nothing would leave that place, and only everyone visible in the place would be able to see any of your content. I think this is just a much more intuitive way to handle groups. It can be more flexible, too, because you could very easily create new places with varying levels of privacy, but the exact level of privacy would always be known to the occupants of the place.
  - MatthewPhillips 15y ago
    If it works like advertised only people in your circle can see the comment. Which leads to a weird experience for the commenter. To them they're essentially talking to just you while you're talking to your own circle. I'd be interesting in seeing a breakdown on how the circles intertwine. For example perhaps you have Jill in your coworkers circle and I have her in my friends circle. So presumable our communications are separate. But what if I move her to my coworkers circle and you're also in my coworkers circle? Are the names of our individual circles significant?
    - joebadmo 15y ago
      Yes, that is another great illustration of how complex and unclear this system of individual lists is. Now imagine the same scenario under the Places metaphor. You go to the "Work Friends" place and share an item. Jill, who is also in that place has access to the exact same list of people that are in the place and so knows exactly who she is talking to when she comments on that shared item. No confusion.
      - tonfa 15y ago
        Google+ works in the way you describe (when you comment you know who can view the post).
        joebadmo 15y ago
        Well, that's encouraging, but I think part of the problem is that I didn't know that. And I think part of why I didn't know that is because "Circles" isn't actually a metaphor that helps me understand how it works. Places, OTOH, is, and I think the metaphor is flexible enough to add other interesting functionality, too. Edit: Also, can you elaborate on how that works? Is there a list of names attached to each shared item?
        tonfa 15y ago
        See the help here (hopefully it works for people not in the trial): http://www.google.com/support/+/bin/static.py?page=guide.cs&guide=1347964&topic=1358057&answer=1283790 http://www.google.com/support/+/bin/static.py?page=guide.cs&... I'll quote the relevant part: > If a post was shared with a limited group of people, you can click Limited at the top of the post to see the profile pics of up to 21 other people who can also see that content, as well as the total number of people on the post.
Lewisham 15y ago
I'm in the Field Trial. My understanding is that anything in a post can only be seen by the people who can see the post. Thus, if you share with a circle, people who do not know each other can see each others replies. It is all about who you chose to share to in the first place, they are the people you are trusting the information to. I would need to test this more fully, but that is my understanding of it.
- joebadmo 15y ago
  That's basically how Google Reader does it, too. The problem is, as you said, if I comment on something someone shared, I have no idea who can see that comment. I was definitely a bit weirded out the first time someone I'd never met replied to a comment of mine on someone else's shared item.
  - tonfa 15y ago
    In Google+, the list of people with whom an item is shared is visible.
  - danssig 15y ago
    So it that's true, then it's no better than what Facebook has with lists, etc.

jokermatt999 15y ago

In Google Reader, comments on items are visible to everyone that can see the item. Edit: this is meant merely to inform, not judge how it is or should be.

joebadmo 15y ago
Right, but that still leaves me not having any idea who can see my comments. Which is fine in Google Reader because I don't expect any level of privacy there, but in Google+, esp. after having explicitly set up Circles, I might expect some level of privacy which doesn't include people outside of the Circle I'm commenting in being able to see my comments. With a "Place" metaphor, if you have a private place, nothing would leave that place, and only everyone visible in the place would be able to see any of your content. I think this is just a much more intuitive way to handle groups. It can be more flexible, too, because you could very easily create new places with varying levels of privacy, but the exact level of privacy would always be known to the occupants of the place.
- MatthewPhillips 15y ago
  If it works like advertised only people in your circle can see the comment. Which leads to a weird experience for the commenter. To them they're essentially talking to just you while you're talking to your own circle. I'd be interesting in seeing a breakdown on how the circles intertwine. For example perhaps you have Jill in your coworkers circle and I have her in my friends circle. So presumable our communications are separate. But what if I move her to my coworkers circle and you're also in my coworkers circle? Are the names of our individual circles significant?
  - joebadmo 15y ago
    Yes, that is another great illustration of how complex and unclear this system of individual lists is. Now imagine the same scenario under the Places metaphor. You go to the "Work Friends" place and share an item. Jill, who is also in that place has access to the exact same list of people that are in the place and so knows exactly who she is talking to when she comments on that shared item. No confusion.
    - tonfa 15y ago
      Google+ works in the way you describe (when you comment you know who can view the post).
      - joebadmo 15y ago
        Well, that's encouraging, but I think part of the problem is that I didn't know that. And I think part of why I didn't know that is because "Circles" isn't actually a metaphor that helps me understand how it works. Places, OTOH, is, and I think the metaphor is flexible enough to add other interesting functionality, too. Edit: Also, can you elaborate on how that works? Is there a list of names attached to each shared item?
        tonfa 15y ago
        See the help here (hopefully it works for people not in the trial): http://www.google.com/support/+/bin/static.py?page=guide.cs&guide=1347964&topic=1358057&answer=1283790 http://www.google.com/support/+/bin/static.py?page=guide.cs&... I'll quote the relevant part: > If a post was shared with a limited group of people, you can click Limited at the top of the post to see the profile pics of up to 21 other people who can also see that content, as well as the total number of people on the post.

Lewisham 15y ago

I'm in the Field Trial. My understanding is that anything in a post can only be seen by the people who can see the post. Thus, if you share with a circle, people who do not know each other can see each others replies. It is all about who you chose to share to in the first place, they are the people you are trusting the information to. I would need to test this more fully, but that is my understanding of it.

joebadmo 15y ago
That's basically how Google Reader does it, too. The problem is, as you said, if I comment on something someone shared, I have no idea who can see that comment. I was definitely a bit weirded out the first time someone I'd never met replied to a comment of mine on someone else's shared item.
- tonfa 15y ago
  In Google+, the list of people with whom an item is shared is visible.
- danssig 15y ago
  So it that's true, then it's no better than what Facebook has with lists, etc.