It's more nicely worded to be sure, and definitely less aggressive, but it still says the same thing, which is "I'm gonna be an unhappy employee if I can't find out who reviewed my work". If they aren't willing to tell her who reviewed her work (which they may or may not have valid reasons for doing, but clearly they don't want to do), then they are dealing with someone who is going to be an unhappy employee since their conditions won't be met. Sure, not a resignation, but if your employer doesn't think you'll be a happy employee, why keep you around?
In any case, she has been very vocal on twitter and has not seemed to deny that she gave some sort of ultimatum. If she didn't give an ultimatum, it would only make Google look worse, so why not mention that on Twitter (given that she has tweeted probably 100 things about this incident in the last two days)? Given the absence of a denial, I'm going to assume that it was worded as an ultimatum.
I vehemently disagree with just your first paragraph. (Your second and arguably more important paragraph I’m sympathetic to.) People state their feelings toward things all the time and none of it should ever be considered permanent. I’ve told my boss many times something of similar ilk, “if you’re going to have me and my team do this last minute demo when it was fully in your capacity to plan better, I’m going to be pretty unhappy.” Even to that I demand things change. Yet, for some reason, I’m not fired afterward as a “disgruntled employee” or “somebody who can’t be happy working”. I take time to understand my boss’s disposition and I strongly seek my boss to understand mine, and hopefully we end up in a better place afterward.
What’s wrong with Google saying, “we refuse to comply with your demands, and we understand you may feel blablabla. We are trying to streamline our submission process and we would like you to help us do that.”? Maybe it’s because Google doesn’t actually have a desire to work with her, in which case, the ultimatum (or whatever it truly was) is just a convenient out.
> Maybe it’s because Google doesn’t actually have a desire to work with her, in which case, the ultimatum (or whatever it truly was) is just a convenient out.
There's almost no question about that in my mind. Maybe google didn't see her work as useful. Maybe she was just an asshole and they didn't like working with her. I have no idea. But if you are already on thin ice (or your company even feels just neutral about you) and you give an ultimatum, prepare for them to use it against you.
In any case, she has been very vocal on twitter and has not seemed to deny that she gave some sort of ultimatum. If she didn't give an ultimatum, it would only make Google look worse, so why not mention that on Twitter (given that she has tweeted probably 100 things about this incident in the last two days)? Given the absence of a denial, I'm going to assume that it was worded as an ultimatum.