5 ms·

>they won't use one iota of their largess to help you deal with the consequences of their actions. Google's refunding all Stadia game and hardware purchases.

>they won't use one iota of their largess to help you deal with the consequences of their actions. Google's refunding all Stadia game and hardware purchases. Disclosure: I work at Google, but not on Stadia.

mach1ne 4y ago
IMO no need for a disclosure if you're just stating a single fact.
- mediumiqsad 4y ago
  It’s intentional, it’s a way to brag. They don’t need to at all. There’s a reason why nobody at other companies does that - people at other companies are normal and don’t think they’re gods gift to the world.
  - DharmaPolice 4y ago
    If you search for "Disclosure I work at Microsoft" site:news.ycombinator.com you get 300+ results.
    - thrwyoilarticle 4y ago
      Though Xicrosofter returns none.
  - Thorrez 4y ago
    It's required by company policy. Otherwise the comments could be seen as astroturfing. The policy is so strict that it specifically says you need to put a disclosure in every individual tweet, a disclosure in your Twitter bio isn't sufficient. I think that part of the rule is broken frequently though.
    - mach1ne 4y ago
      Interesting. Is it limited to Twitter? I can see the company fearing a backlash in social medias where you're operating under your own name (and thus can be traced back to Google) but what about anonymous and semi-anonymous forums like HN?
      - Thorrez 4y ago
        I re-read it, and it actually doesn't explicitly mention Twitter. It does mention how you can disclose using hashtags, which is why I misremembered it as talking about Twitter, because Twitter and hashtags are so linked in my mind. It looks like it applies to basically any online post/comment, regardless of if it's anonymous.
- DharmaPolice 4y ago
  I think it's better to err on the side of caution. By stating that fact you're defending Google, might be open that you work for the organisation.
- Thorrez 4y ago
  Company policy requires me state this anytime I say something positive about Google. Otherwise there's the risk of it coming off as astroturfing.
aeturnum 4y ago
Yes, but what I am talking about is the professional side. Sibling comments are talking about the Nov 1st launch games who were in the dark. Obviously Google can make it right - but that doesn't seem like what they are going to do.
- Thorrez 4y ago
  It looks like Google is going to make it right: https://nitter.net/OldeSkuul/status/1575863134857793536 https://nitter.net/OldeSkuul/status/1575863134857793536 https://nitter.net/burgerbecky/status/1575721820904632320 https://nitter.net/burgerbecky/status/1575721820904632320 I don't really know if there's a better way to do it. If you're going to shut down and refund everyone's purchases, you need to disable purchases at the exact moment you make the announcement, otherwise people will buy things for semi-free knowing they'll get refunded in the future. If you tell game devs before the general public, it's going to leak out. If it leaks out you either need to lie and say it's not shutting down, or announce that it is shutting down, in which case the game devs didn't really get much advance notice.

mach1ne 4y ago

IMO no need for a disclosure if you're just stating a single fact.

mediumiqsad 4y ago
It’s intentional, it’s a way to brag. They don’t need to at all. There’s a reason why nobody at other companies does that - people at other companies are normal and don’t think they’re gods gift to the world.
- DharmaPolice 4y ago
  If you search for "Disclosure I work at Microsoft" site:news.ycombinator.com you get 300+ results.
  - thrwyoilarticle 4y ago
    Though Xicrosofter returns none.
- Thorrez 4y ago
  It's required by company policy. Otherwise the comments could be seen as astroturfing. The policy is so strict that it specifically says you need to put a disclosure in every individual tweet, a disclosure in your Twitter bio isn't sufficient. I think that part of the rule is broken frequently though.
  - mach1ne 4y ago
    Interesting. Is it limited to Twitter? I can see the company fearing a backlash in social medias where you're operating under your own name (and thus can be traced back to Google) but what about anonymous and semi-anonymous forums like HN?
    - Thorrez 4y ago
      I re-read it, and it actually doesn't explicitly mention Twitter. It does mention how you can disclose using hashtags, which is why I misremembered it as talking about Twitter, because Twitter and hashtags are so linked in my mind. It looks like it applies to basically any online post/comment, regardless of if it's anonymous.
DharmaPolice 4y ago
I think it's better to err on the side of caution. By stating that fact you're defending Google, might be open that you work for the organisation.
Thorrez 4y ago
Company policy requires me state this anytime I say something positive about Google. Otherwise there's the risk of it coming off as astroturfing.

aeturnum 4y ago

Yes, but what I am talking about is the professional side. Sibling comments are talking about the Nov 1st launch games who were in the dark. Obviously Google can make it right - but that doesn't seem like what they are going to do.

Thorrez 4y ago
It looks like Google is going to make it right: https://nitter.net/OldeSkuul/status/1575863134857793536 https://nitter.net/OldeSkuul/status/1575863134857793536 https://nitter.net/burgerbecky/status/1575721820904632320 https://nitter.net/burgerbecky/status/1575721820904632320 I don't really know if there's a better way to do it. If you're going to shut down and refund everyone's purchases, you need to disable purchases at the exact moment you make the announcement, otherwise people will buy things for semi-free knowing they'll get refunded in the future. If you tell game devs before the general public, it's going to leak out. If it leaks out you either need to lie and say it's not shutting down, or announce that it is shutting down, in which case the game devs didn't really get much advance notice.