AgoraNaut / AgoraXchange Community

I read a shared re-post by an acquaintance  ( Phil Windley ) today on Google's G+ and it sparked a few thoughts I've had previously.

Ever since the free email services started popping up several years ago, I've been highly suspicious of the tendency to "put all your eggs in someone else's basket".  On occasion I've warned others of not relying on services such as gmail, hotmail, yahoo, etc for your email lifeblood. I normally ask folks that use these services: who owns your emails & files? What happens if you wish to move the data or back it up?  The answers are usually blank stares or some comment about how the service is trustworthy and more reliable / cost effective than running your own service or server. Other answers indicate freedom from an ISP should they need to obtain a new one or be away from their home or work accounts. While these services are convenient and easy, is that enough to become a tenant on the internet over being a property owner?

Given that these services are "easy" to use, people trade their rights in their own content for ease of use and convenience.  But when something goes amiss and a robotic overlord closes your account at such a service, what are you to do?  Your personal, academic and/or professional life has just been disrupted and hijacked.  Then add on top of the shock of having your account closed without notice the act that you are not afforded a means of resolving the issue.  This is a very real and scary fact for many people. Here's a very recent example of a normal person that was actually a huge supporter of Google's services that was closed down by Google and left hanging without answers nor options:

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/bt2p2o