Gmail problems... again?

Seems like every couple of months reports surface about outages with Gmail (and Yahoo Mail too). Lately reports about Gmail accounts being disabled and people being unable to access their mail for hours, if not days, have been heating up. Google says it has received feedback from some Gmail users who were having trouble accessing their accounts but that the incidents were isolated and have been fixed. The causes were "user-specific (i.e., a local server issue)," a Google representative said in an e-mail Thursday. "Nonetheless, the actual errors and problems that users have experienced are things that we take very seriously, and we are continually working to offer the most reliable e-mail service to our users," the e-mail said.

Problems like these, even sporadic and eventually fixed, can damage the reputation of any Internet service provider, but particularly one that's increasingly marketing itself as the go-to company for hosted applications aimed at consumers and businesses. People are putting more and more of their lives--the data and communications they rely on for work and play--on to the Internet. Having that link severed, even briefly, can lead to immeasurable inconvenience and even financial loss.

CNET News.com interviewed a Gmail user who said his wife's account was inaccessible for up to two days this week and received an e-mail from a reader who complained that his account was disabled for about three days as of Friday. This ZDNet UK article includes information from several people who have had problems recently, including someone who said he lost access to his Gmail for about a week. Reports of Gmail problems have been circulating on blogs and forums for much of this month, according to the article.

And in these blog postings this week you can hear the desperation of Gmail users:

• "Has Gmail REALLY been down for more than twenty-four hours, or is it up and down and I just keep missing it when it's up? I'm starting to twitch here. Get your SHIT together, Google!" wrote a blogger using the alias "Chef Troy".

• "What is the deal with Gmail? It seems to be down three-fourths of the time, and when I do manage to access my inbox, only half my LJ notifications are there. Grrrr. Don't make me switch back to Yahoo Mail for my primary," wrote "Hannasus" on his blog.

• "Current Mood: Distressed. Gmail's Down. Is anyone else with a Gmail account having trouble getting in over the last 24 hours? I'm starting to feel like my supply of oxygen has been cut off," wrote Baron Von Reed on his blog.

• "OK, this is pissing me off. I haven't been able to check my e-mail all day. Google's been mostly down since last night, and I wish they'd hurry up and fix whatever went wrong. I have eight unread messages, according to my Gmail notifier, and it's really bugging me that I can't read them, especially since a few of them are important and/or work-related *sigh,*" wrote a blogger named Claire.

• So, dude. Gmail's not, um, giving me my mail," wrote a more calm blogger named Baffled King on his site.

Though it's a good idea, users can't be expected to back up all their e-mail. And arguments that users of a free e-mail service shouldn't expect to be able to depend on the availability and integrity of the service don't wash, particularly when Google is serving users ads to get a revenue stream. Google says it takes the matter very seriously. "Providing a superior and dependable service is our top priority," the representative's e-mail said. Let's hope Google really is listening.

[gimleydwarf]

This is more serious than we think. Cloud-computing and putting up all your docs on Google and similar providers is seriously compromised. I for one am removing all my data from Google and squirreling it away somewhere else. Nothing like the good old hard-disk and back-ups.
Will Google at least try and tell u what's wrong and share with us the info. Finally as netizens we do have a right to know if our data is safe. Please do not be teflon-coated. Have a open policy lik the Google of the good old days. Is some one at Google listening?

[markiereef]

gmail was down again today for about 1 hour - makes me realize how vulnerable I am having all my emails come through those guys - also raises the question about cloud computing - when it goes offline the world will stop - markiereef form tenerife-marketing.com

[piratechest]

I haven't been able to log into my gmail account for three days.What the hell is going on.I signed up for gmail because I heard it was the best.Boy was I wrong.I can't even go to the webpage.A error message keeps poping up (Internet Explorer cannot display webpage)I have tried everything to fix it,but had no luck.I don't understand how I still get my emails because I have them forward to my Yahoo account,but I can't go to my gmail inbox.If anyone reads this and can help me please send feedback to [e-mail].