[ajays]

Even assuming the OP pulled some stunt with AdWords (and this is just an assumption that you're putting forth, without any evidence whatsoever), does it justify wiping out that guy's entire online existence? His photos? His emails? His documents?

This is like sentencing someone to death for shoplifting. GMail, Picasa, etc. are not about AdWords; they're a means for people to connect with each other. Unless, of course, Google is agreeing that you are indeed a product and not a user.

[ajays]

Wow. A bunch of Google fanboys voting me down for stating something rational, but that just happens to be anti-Google.

I just started using G+ (mainly because I'd like there to be a strong competitor to FB), but Google's antics give me cause for concern. I'd hate to get "hacked" some day and have Google completely wipe out every bit I have with them.

[Pewpewarrows]

You can download your data from Google anytime: http://www.google.com/takeout/

When you sign-up for a Google account, there's a little something called a Terms of Service you agree to. You violate them? You sacrifice all rights to any data you may or may not have on their services. That's something every Google user agrees to from day one. If you don't like that punishment, you shouldn't have signed up.

[dwwoelfel]

* If you don't like that punishment, you shouldn't have signed up.*

Alternatively, we could make arguments for why that is a bad idea, post them on a public forum, and hope that Google sees it.

[cynope]

> You can download your data from Google anytime: http://www.google.com/takeout/

+1's, buzz, contacts, picasa and my +1 posts?

That's less than 10 % of the data I have with Google.

[puredemo]

Seriously. Are they even being serious with that?

[Matt_Cutts]

I believe Takeout launched with Google+, so it's geared toward data in Google+ (at least initially).

[samj]

According to Skud (who was also suspended) you have to do this before you get suspended — now she "can’t use Google Takeout to export [her] profile and stream": http://infotrope.net/2011/07/22/ive-been-suspended-from-goog...

[nikhilgk]

This is the more significant source of information for moving data out of Google products: http://www.dataliberation.org/

[drewvolpe]

This doesn't include the most important service: GMail.

[Matt_Cutts]

I believe Takeout launched with Google+, so it's geared toward data in Google+ (at least initially). Here's a post I did about backing up data in Gmail a while back: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/backup-gmail-in-linux-with-get... This post has info about backing up other data from a Google account: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/not-trapping-users-data-good/

[drewvolpe]

This is from your post on how to do a backup:

== ...Gmail will only let you down a few hundred emails at a time. You can repeat the command (let getmail finish each time before you run it again) until all of your email is downloaded. ==

You honestly expect users to fetch of their mail a few hundred messages at a time ?

You also leave out the fact that if you re-run that script a number of times in a row, Google's server's will block you until you fill out a captcha and wait 24 hours.

GMail is a free service, so having limited features and options is expected. But it's troublesome that Google doesn't feel it has an obligation to respect its user's data. An admin you're not allowed to contact thinks you violated the terms and all of your mail is deleted. Business contracts, random chats with cute girls/boys from school, messages from family and friends who might not be here anymore, ... all of it is gone.

[jvdh]

offlineimap.org ?

[Matt_Cutts]

As we can discuss now, it wasn't regarding AdWords or anything like that, it was about potential child pornography: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/bvqdos The person whose account was suspended said "I too found the image bordering on the limits of what is legally permissible and hoped to highlight the fact that it is allowed to exist within a grey area of legality."