Hacker News story: Microsofties out there – stop abusing your customer

Microsofties out there – stop abusing your customer
I opened a MS account for some email testing, and it somehow auto-linked itself to a Skype account. No permission was asked for, and none would have been granted. What did happen is I opened the email account on a pc running Skype (win32 and web app). I only noticed because Skype since logs me out randomly, even during calls. Searching for a fix indicated to unlink any MS account. I thought I didn't have a linked account, but when I checked - there was the Microsoft account that had gatecrashed the private Skype party :( Oh, MS support told me they no longer lets you unlink the accounts. WTF Microsoft, these are Dark Patterns - the same deceptive lying customer unfriendly things done in your name during the Windows 10 upgrade trick dialogues etc. After 30 years as an expert on the MS platform, I want MS to succeed. Can someone at MS fix this, perhaps for me to unlink the accounts (they were unlinked a week ago, they can still be despite the support script saying they can't). Then re-enable the working feature you had to unlink the account for anyone - a web search shows it's a common issue and customers want to do it. Give customers what they want. Can people in MS who have some common sense and decency push back to stop the abusive nutjobs who have been creating customer unfriendly 'anti-features' into MS systems. I know other companies treat their customers poorly, but copying abusive behaviour is the wrong lesson and you will eventually get Weinsteined. Instead focus on the big under-served market opportunity to treat customers well, the way you yourself would like to be treated. As people's online literacy grows more and more people will realise the deception, bullying, and abuse of the power imbalance that these Dark Patterns are built on, and a history of abusive practices may be the reason today's big companies don't exist in tomorrow's future. 0 comments on Hacker News.
I opened a MS account for some email testing, and it somehow auto-linked itself to a Skype account. No permission was asked for, and none would have been granted. What did happen is I opened the email account on a pc running Skype (win32 and web app). I only noticed because Skype since logs me out randomly, even during calls. Searching for a fix indicated to unlink any MS account. I thought I didn't have a linked account, but when I checked - there was the Microsoft account that had gatecrashed the private Skype party :( Oh, MS support told me they no longer lets you unlink the accounts. WTF Microsoft, these are Dark Patterns - the same deceptive lying customer unfriendly things done in your name during the Windows 10 upgrade trick dialogues etc. After 30 years as an expert on the MS platform, I want MS to succeed. Can someone at MS fix this, perhaps for me to unlink the accounts (they were unlinked a week ago, they can still be despite the support script saying they can't). Then re-enable the working feature you had to unlink the account for anyone - a web search shows it's a common issue and customers want to do it. Give customers what they want. Can people in MS who have some common sense and decency push back to stop the abusive nutjobs who have been creating customer unfriendly 'anti-features' into MS systems. I know other companies treat their customers poorly, but copying abusive behaviour is the wrong lesson and you will eventually get Weinsteined. Instead focus on the big under-served market opportunity to treat customers well, the way you yourself would like to be treated. As people's online literacy grows more and more people will realise the deception, bullying, and abuse of the power imbalance that these Dark Patterns are built on, and a history of abusive practices may be the reason today's big companies don't exist in tomorrow's future.