
Google+ invites friends without asking - mittermayr
Google+ just let me know I can open an account now with my Gmail/domain e-mail, and I did. It started recommending people, which I thought was interesting, since I didn't give permission to use my address book. I added them to circles anyway, only to learn (and again, Google+ doesn't tell you this upfront) that most friends actually weren't on Google+ but rather were in my e-mail address book and everytime I added them to a circle, they were invited through e-mail, to join Google+. This shocks me, wouldn't fly in Germany, at all. Why Google? Why all the evil?<p>Here is proof:
http://imgur.com/Hck8O
======
corin_
You were actively asking Google to add those people, it was the polar opposite
of "without asking".

~~~
struppi
This is true, he asked google to add those people. Anyway, I sometimes wish it
would be easier to see who already is a Google+ user and who is not. Also, I
don't think this feature would be a problem in Germany (or here in Austria for
that matter). I don't think google needs your permission to use _their_
address book in one of _their_ services that is tightly coupled with gmail.

~~~
mittermayr
well, unfortunately, legally they need that permission. they probably informed
me throughout the process somewhere in the terms, which, i of course skipped.
I am just trying to make the point that this is less about legal implications
but merely a call for better user guidance and being nice to your customers. i
consider myself an advanced user (i make websites, i run a company, i've
worked for it corporations) and yet even I 'accidentally' spam a lot of my
friends because they showed up in a nicely prepared circle on Google+ that
says here are your friends, add them to your circles.

~~~
ramblerman
how can u share something with someone if they are not on google plus?

The fact that adding them would result in an invite seemed like basic logical
deduction to me. They could _always_ be clearer, but where does it end...

~~~
mittermayr
well, as i said, further down, there is a clear "invite friends" section,
right underneath the friend suggestions. this pretty much indicates that one
thing will suggest friends who are on the network and the other allows me to
invite them by e-mail. this is where my confusion came from... and that's
where google decided it's cool to show me full names and no (not on the
network) indications so i get the impression i can easily move them to a
circle and friend them, when in fact, this just helps to spam more people who
didn't want to be on the network (and I obviously can't know about this).
think business contacts.

~~~
Random_Person
Yeah, if you look at your circles, the friends that aren't on G+ show up with
an email icon in their bubble indicating that you are sharing with them via
email only. I've suggested multiple times that the same icon be shown in the
suggestions list. It really sucks that it is not on by default.

~~~
mittermayr
that's what I meant. exactly.

------
pasbesoin
Sounds like a dark pattern (deliberately misleading design).

P.S. Every time I think about joining Plus, another issue like this one makes
me put on the brakes.

At this point, I can say simply that "something doesn't smell right".

------
mittermayr
EDIT: I've added two screenshots of what I'm pissed about.
<http://imgur.com/Hck8O>

