Gmail gets another tool for dummies: Name check

Gmail's labs section is full of tools that help advanced users fine-tune the interface of the free Web mail service. What may be more impressive, though, are its tweaks for the not-so-advanced users, the kind who need a little hand-holding to keep them from firing off e-mails while intoxicated, or missives that they didn't mean to send in the first place.

To add to these two features, Google on Tuesday introduced "got the wrong Bob?", a very simple tweak that, based on first names, will give you a subtle nudge if it thinks you're sending an e-mail to someone outside of the group you usually correspond with. The alert shows up just above the subject line and asks "Did you mean: ____ instead of ____?" Clicking that link replaces the wrong e-mail address immediately.

Gmail's new labs feature checks to make sure you're sending that e-mail to the correct person if it senses that you typed in the wrong first name.

(Credit: CNET)

In my testing I got it to work pretty well on family and co-workers, although it misfired a few times on groups of friends with whom I had past group e-mailing history. Obviously the more you send to certain people, the better it should get at identifying the ones who don't fit. However, I think most people aren't bound to get into this kind of trouble with Gmail's contact auto-complete suggestions which are quite good. It shows you the person's full name, and their e-mail address, making it difficult to accidentally select the wrong person. Then again, if you're in a rush, mistakes can most definitely happen.

[Orion Blastar]

Actually it is best practices to not send email while drunk. Wait until you are sober or else your email will look funny. But this is a good way to stop from sending to the wrong people. This way the right people will get your "Mel Gibson" drunken rant instead of the wrong people.

[durlabhm]

Microsoft Exchange server 2010 has what is called as MailTips ( http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2009/04/28/451193.aspx ) along with a host of new and exciting features.. Is goog starting to copy msft ? :)

[loose_screw]

And who did msft copy those ideas from?

[heygeo]

considering that this was in a MS design well before goog half heartedly slapped their stuff together.. yah you could say they're copying.

[karpenterskids]

Google seems to be dealing a lot lately with drunk + emailing.

Unless I'm mistaken, wasn't there also a "Goggles" feature that made you solve a math problem or something similar before you were allowed to send emails out late at night?

They seem to be catering to the teen-30 crowd. Or perhaps they're just ideas conceived in the mind of Google employees who've been in that drunk position plenty of times before. Either way...

[irondog1970]

Google Labs is pretty cool. These are features that you can enable or disable. If you're not the type to send out email while drunk, then you don't need that feature. I use Mail Goggles, and I wish my iPhone had a similar feature for text messaging. I also use more practical Lab apps such as custom date (I prefer 24-hour time) and sender's time zone.

For personal use, this particular Lab app doesn't do much for me. But if we had this at work?it would be brilliant.

[geeksplosion]

Yeah fine...this is neat and all. But why oh WHY can Google not make a tweak to move the 'save' button far away from the 'send' button. There have been too many emails I have sent before they were complete because I clicked the wrong one.