Things that I DO NOT like about Gmail in its current avataar
Posted : June 22, 2004 at 3:30 pm [America/Los_Angeles]
Don’t get me wrong: Gmail rocks! Google continues to amaze me with their uncanny ability of creating web applications that have a simple UI, are extremely functional and perform exceptionally well. I also understand that Gmail is currently in BETA. However, I thought I will take a minute to share two things that I don’t like about it in its current avataar:
- I hate that their is no way to know that I have a new email! I am not sure how they would pull this off, since the only Google software that continuously resides in my memory is the Google toolbar (provided I am using IE and I keep it open all the time).
- In Gmail, Google has replaced the concept of folders with Labels. The Gmail Help has this to say about it:
We’ve replaced them (folders) with something better — labels. Labels provide all the functionality of folders and give you an extra bonus: you can add more than one label to a conversation. That’s something you can’t do with folders. Once you’ve created a label, you can view all the messages with that label by searching or by clicking the label.
I guess the name “Label” is the thing that really throws me off. If you’ve used Thunderbird or other rich email clients, you know that Label is something that you use to flag a message as “Important, To do, etc.”. Also, the fact that adding a label to a bunch of emails does not remove it from the Inbox, as would be the case if you moved an email to a folder, is a pain. In Gmail, the traditional behavior of moving emails to a folder is a two step process: First, select your emails and apply labels appropriately. Then, click on “Archive” for the mails to disappear from your Inbox. I have a feeling I would end up with labels that look like folder names (family, personal, linux-list, etc.) as well as traditional label names (Important, to-do, etc. etc.).
Wonder what’s so terrible about supporting folders and labels, as most email clients seem to do.
- Anand
Category: Services and Software
8 Comments
I think the idea is that you never file stuff into folders any more, you just leave it in one giant inbox pile, meta-tagged with labels and indexed with Google’s search.
They’re making it intentionally difficult to move to a folder. Not sure if I’ve warmed to this idea myself (I like to file messages) but I like to see people trying something new.
Regarding your email notification, check out
GTray.
Although I’m sure that the google toolbar will have GMail support shortly…
Posted by: darren at June 22, 2004 @ 6:33 pm
Thanks Darren! Must say, I somehow missed any blog posts on GTray.
Now, if only it would support opening the Gmail window in my default browser (Firefox)..;-)
Posted by: Anand Sharma at June 22, 2004 @ 9:13 pm
Pop Goes the Gmail also works: http://jaybe.org/info.htm
It does not require IE.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 23, 2004 @ 4:01 am
Well, Google sure is in a position to create a new conceptual model/paradigm of how to organize your email. “Labels” sure were confusing at first (until I read the Help section on it), but when I know what they were for, I got comfortable immediately. I like the way you can have more than 1 label for an email. Well, you can have an email in 2 folders if you copy them over, but that’s hardly efficient or “acceptable” in terms of our conceptual model of folders (and their contained messages).
Posted by: Cheah Chu Yeow at June 23, 2004 @ 7:46 am
Hey my email’s displayed. Damn. Shouldn’t have put that in.
Posted by: Cheah Chu Yeow at June 23, 2004 @ 7:47 am
Cheah: Well I am not sure what else I would do with an email than to use it in an href. Anyway, since you were concerned, I took it off. Hope that’s ok.
I agree with every single one of the argument you made about Label. All I am saying is - “Why can’t we keep this newer concept of labels along with folders?” If anything, it gives folks more options not less. Unless of course, there is a technical reason behind it.
Anyway, thanks for the comment and sorry about the email thingie. If you’ve an idea of a better way to deal with it, let me know..:-)
Posted by: Anand Sharma at June 23, 2004 @ 9:42 am
No worries
Well, you could just keep it so that you can privately email the people who comment if necesary. Displaying their email addresses serve no benefit (and in fact a lot to their detriment) to commentors. I don’t display email on my blog. I display the URL if they do have one (of course, this then means you will get comment spam).
Anyhoo, I’m sure Google made an interface design decision to do away with folders and use labels instead. I have a feeling having both at once would be even more confusing, and would leave labels very much unused (since people are so used to old-school email folders).
Posted by: Cheah Chu Yeow at June 25, 2004 @ 11:13 am
True. Good point indeed..:-)
- Anand
Posted by: Anand Sharma at June 25, 2004 @ 12:53 pm