
Google Calendar’s Enforced Birthdays Show the Ugly Side of Algorithms - riaface
http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/09/google-calendar-birthdays-tfbs/
======
robotvert
The given solution at the end of the article to simply remove the disabled
attribute didn't work on its own here because there's no event fired
afterwards to persist the change.

I had to manually edit the HTML and add the onclick handler:

Note:

\- change the id you pass to the onclick function to match yours if it
differs.

\- the "KNa" function might also be different. Check out the other checkboxes'
HTML to figure it out.

BEFORE:

<input type="checkbox"
id="cbm-I2NvbnRhY3RzQGdyb3VwLnYuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ" checked=""
disabled="" class="al-ctrl al-nameref-showinlist">

AFTER:

<input type="checkbox"
id="cbm-I2NvbnRhY3RzQGdyb3VwLnYuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ" checked=""
class="al-ctrl al-nameref-showinlist"
onclick=KNa(('I2NvbnRhY3RzQGdyb3VwLnYuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ'),(true));">

And then uncheck the box. Done.

~~~
igetspam
Alternatively, you could enable the unsubscribe link by changing the &nbsp; in
the <td class="rightlink"> tag to this:

<a href="javascript:void(0)" class="al-ctrl al-desc-self"
onclick="LNa(('cbm-I2NvbnRhY3RzQGdyb3VwLnYuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ'));"><nobr>Unsubscribe</nobr></a>

That gets it out of your account completely.

------
hias
You can hide the calendar by clicking on the square symbol next to it.

~~~
jack-r-abbit
Right. After skimming the article I went to my Calendar to see what had
changed. Nothing. That calendar was still there and turned off like it always
has been. Not sure what everyone is talking about.

~~~
geovizer
I have the same problem and the same irritation as the author of the article:
I can't turn off birthdays in Google Calendar using the GUI. The checkbox that
should allow me to do so is greyed out. Perhaps Google are doing a staged
rollout of this "feature", or perhaps you have escaped the clammy grip of
Google+?

~~~
jack-r-abbit
The check box in the Calendar Settings page is grayed out for me too as it
seems. But I just toggle it off in my actual calendar view so none of the
dates show up. Sure it still is in the list of calendars but it is not like it
really effects anything just being in the list.

~~~
kngspook
0\. Software is supposed to be designed to serve me; it's not my job to find
workarounds for shitty design. This is a shitty design, and therefore people
are criticizing it.

1\. It's annoying because I already have all the birthdays I want on my iCloud
calendar; it's creating a pile of duplicate events.

2\. It's annoying in 3rd party apps when you hit a show/hide all calendars
button, but you never want to see the Birthdays calendar.

3\. Some 3rd party apps don't let you show/hide calendars in general, and this
isn't a writable calendar, so it's doubly annoying. (Yes, this is shitty
design too.)

~~~
jack-r-abbit
The toggles aren't "work arounds." They are the UI of Calendar.

But interesting that two of your bullet points in a comment about Google's
shitty design are actually about the shitty design of some 3rd party apps, not
Google. None of the 3rd party apps I use for Calendar have those issues.

I don't think it is a big deal. You do. Both are opinions. We disagree.

------
Oletros
Slow news day for Techcrunch?

