Comments on: Why I became a Gmail convert

Filters and labels helped move me from Yahoo Mail to Gmail; search and keyboard controls made me happy. Too bad about the rocky transition.

[drtyrell]

Gosh, why I became a GMail customer? I guess it was my dream for a New World Order. I like the idea of people reading my mail. When I saw the ex-CIA agents defecting during press conferences screaming to the world that the NSA and the CIA are behind Google, I thought to myself, "self, that sounds like a tyranny for me!" Oh, and did I mention I LOVE hosting all my companies vitals at a government snoop house? Well I have found that wherever I go, everyone already knows everything about me. It's so convenient to go into a negotiation and find that my competitors already have my cost sheets in their hands. It makes discussing my profit so much easier when they can see how much everything costs, and how on schedule I am. I also enjoy it when Google's servers go down and my company couldn't function. I got a much needed Orwellian vacation that day. I got some much needed time to watch my backlog of propaganda videos about Agenda 21, Iron Mountain, and the Georgia Guidestones. Can't wait for 93% of the world population to be erased off the face of the planet. I'm thinking the internet is going to be a lot faster when that day comes. I have my HAARP immunity mirrors on the roof top to protect me. Did I mention I love Gmail?

[skillingssucks]

You are an idiot. No one is reading your email, fool. A computer is simply scanning for key words, then matching advertising to those key words. Get a clue. If you think that you're less vulnerable to government "snooping" because you're using an email client with your ISP mail instead of web based mail, you might want to think again. Those mail servers are just as vulnerable to a subpoena as Google's servers are.

[limefan913]

I've been using Gmail practically since it was first released, and it's an amazing example of what you can do in a browser. It's more intuitive than anything I've ever done, and searching e-mail is better than anyone else could ever do. Of course, we are talking about the kings of search.

Let's face it, everything about Gmail, is more/less good.

That being said, I'm surprised to see this article. Although Google has Gmail marked as a beta, it's been public for a while, and has been mature enough for full time use... hell since it became available.

[JCPayne]

The Microsoft proposed Buyout of Yahoo moved me....

[The_Decider]

What a silly article.

Was it worth giving up your privacy for?

I don't use Gmail, Yahoo or hotmail(except for bogus accounts to sign up with, the spam is usually hotmail based, keep it where it belongs), I don't even use spam filters. I don't get spam and a corporation doesn't get access to my emails. Avoiding spam without using filters is easy, it just takes a tiny amount of thought.

Running your own mail server is easy, low cost, and keeps you in control.

[angrykeyboarder]

And your ISP permits you to run a server?

[SeizeCTRL]

I'm torn... I use both regularly. There are things I like about both, but the best thing about Yahoo is the ability to create folders and standard hot key commands like CTRL+Enter to send which is the same for Outlook/express. That alone is why I have not yet dropped Yahoo.

Gmail definitely has a better spam filter.

[scythie]

There was already email in 1988..?

[nycbuyer]

I use hotmail, and I'm hesitant to switch to gmail for two reasons:
1) the offline client. i really like having all the email on my own machine.
2) the inbox. i get email from a lot of sources (like mailing lists) that i like to read, but i don't consider important. and so when mail comes from those sources it gets filtered to different folders, and my inbox remains empty. by looking at my inbox, i can tell if i have any messages that have been directed to me personally, that i need to answer.

i'm wondering if anyone has thoughts on this, particularly number 2. i'm guessing you can label them, and then color code the label. but they still clutter up the inbox.

anybody have a similar situation, and happy with gmail??

[angrykeyboarder]

I can't imagine how anyone could prefer Hotmail over Gmai. Hotmail is a distant #3 when it comes to decent webmail.

And as has already been pointed out, it's easy to keep your Gmail inbox "empty" with the use of folders and archiving.

And local copies ar a cinch. Hotmail only lets you keep local copies if you are a slave to Microsoft software.

Gmail has both POP (and better yet, IMAP) access which allows you to use whatever software you want for local use (e.g. that Tbunderbird, Eudora, Apple Mail, Kmail, Windows Mail or anything with the word "Outlook" in it).

[ayoung45]

Gmail is the best. They are actively developing new features to make it better and better. Oh google, keep up the innovation!

[johnpent]

Once comment said that GMAIL's spam filter is not as good as Yahoo. Let's get very real. Yahoo BLOCKS REAL EMAIL and you cannot go to a spam filter to find it. My business deals with a lot of people that send email off their own domain name. If it does not like the domain, swoosh - black hole. Gmail is far better. It goes into the spam box. I use gmail and for my biz google apps mail - which is gmail for my domain. No product touches gmail. I laugh a people just now converting. It is like a smoker who quit yesterday suddenly taking up the cause of anti-smoking. Those of us that have been there for years knew better all along. GMAIL is knowing better.

[angrykeyboarder]

I agree, Gmail is the best when it comes to webmail. Nothing comes close.

With that said, I'm still old school. I prefer paying someone to host my email on a server. I then download it and read it with Mozilla Thunderbird. I also have my own domain name.

I an do all of this with Gmail as well. And I've considered moving my domain to Google, but I've got thousands of emails archived on my existing server and the migration would be more trouble than it's worth.

[kwreid]

I too have become a Gmail convert. The biggest barrier for me was accepting the new 'labels' method of organizing mail rather than 'folders'.

http://blog.geeqs.net/archive/2009/01/05/i-m-now-a-gmail-convert.aspx