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Gmail, We Need to Talk

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191–200 of 247 posts

Re: Gmail, We Need to Talk

#191

Maybe I am just really, really old at this point, but sending emails in plain text solves all these problems. I don't think I've ever received an HTML email that couldn't have been adequately represented in plain text and maybe an attached image if necessary.

I have a real estate app that sends me emails about new properties, with tables of data and embedded images. I couldn't do this with plain text email.

Re: Gmail, We Need to Talk

#192
post #12

> Gmail and its plethora of rendering quirks is a big reason why developers avoid working on email. Developers like well-defined and documented environments, and email is anything but. Although many email clients suffer from rendering issues, getting an email to display nicely in the various Gmail desktop and mobile clients gives developers the most angst. THANK FUCK. Seriously, just send me plain text.

Exactly. It looks like some companies try to send you a whole website over an email.

Re: Gmail, We Need to Talk

#193
post #23

GMail, we need to talk. We need to talk about how substring searches do not work, 11 years after your launch. We need to talk about how you've slowly engineered out everything that was good and unique about GMail. We need to talk about how you "flattened" the style, removed colors from threaded messages, and just decided to use shades of grey everywhere. We need to talk about how difficult it is to tell one message f…

It's pretty well hidden, but you can still compose messages in a new window. For new messages, hold down Shift when clicking on the Compose button, or just hit Shift-C (but only if you have vim-style keyboard shortcuts turned on[1]). For replies, you have to click "pop out reply" first and then hold Shift while clicking the (horribly labeled) middle button in the resulting reply pane / thing[2]. ...and the fact that…

Thanks so much for the tip on shift-C!

Re: Gmail, We Need to Talk

#194
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? If you left-click in a place, a small card appears with an arrow that you can click to get directions. If you right-click, you can get directions from or to the place. And if you search, you also get a very visible round button with an arrow and the label "Directions". How is it hard? EDIT: Sorry if this came out as aggressive. I'm just dumbfounded, that's all.

I'm not a UX expert and don't have the vocabulary to describe what's wrong with it. What I know is that I used to enjoy using it. Not just for directions, but I'd use it for fun to explore new areas. And now I dislike and avoid using it altogether. Similar to Gmail. It's just feels like a mess of UI elements that show and hide and move dynamically, don't have fixed spots on the page, don't work consistently, etc. Lik…

It has become gnome of map applications. It used to open so fast 10 years ago it was surprisingly amazing, now it takes more time to load and crashes my browser randomly. I dread opening google maps now thinking if I will have to reopen all my tabs, and I literally use it only on chrome now.

Re: Gmail, We Need to Talk

#195
the only thing from Google I really like, at this moment, is Golang. Products I used to love are either gone (greater) or ruined. It's amazing to witness a long, gradual process of unavoidable increment of entropy/mediocracy. so long, and thanks for all the fish!

Re: Gmail, We Need to Talk

#196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is that email using HTML? Hello there! Thanks for purchasing X for $Y. Your tax invoice is attached. Here's where you can track your delivery: http://example.com/tracking Thanks!

Such a minimalist design may work for some products/brands. But just as many companies, especially companies that put a lot of focus on brand management, may want nice images and responsive design. It's not an unreasonable request. Even if it's not as effective for click-through/customer re-engagement/etc. you should let the customer decide on what kind of emails they want. Data will prove if nice images and ads are…

> may want nice images and responsive design

Responsive design? Have you ever tried implementing an HTML email that will work across different clients? I'd be thrilled if 2005-era floats worked. As it stands, s inside s is state of the art.

Re: Gmail, We Need to Talk

#197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you using the actual native app or just the mobile website? If you have wifi off, it should still have access to your GPS to get your location, unless that is either off or blocked/unavailable. If the website then how would it know your location if you don't allow it?

There are several better failbacks than "most popular store in the US." Starting with "Store closest to the centroid of past N addresses that I have clicked."

Its actually worse. Only this Saturday I searched for a ice cream shop and it directed me 2.5 miles away. So now I am riding the prescribed route when I see a different branch of the same shop in 0.6 miles. Baffled I looked again at the search results and for some reason this nearest branch was listed at number 5 and I had to scroll down to find it. This when I had GPS and 3G on.

Re: Gmail, We Need to Talk

#198

Maybe I am just really, really old at this point, but sending emails in plain text solves all these problems. I don't think I've ever received an HTML email that couldn't have been adequately represented in plain text and maybe an attached image if necessary.

I have a real estate app that sends me emails about new properties, with tables of data and embedded images. I couldn't do this with plain text email.

Attach a PDF?

Re: Gmail, We Need to Talk

#199
post #26
post #23

GMail, we need to talk. We need to talk about how substring searches do not work, 11 years after your launch. We need to talk about how you've slowly engineered out everything that was good and unique about GMail. We need to talk about how you "flattened" the style, removed colors from threaded messages, and just decided to use shades of grey everywhere. We need to talk about how difficult it is to tell one message f…

Maps has really become a chore to use, too. I remember getting directions used to be easy once and now it's like interacting with enterprise software.

Try Here maps. This is the old Nokia maps now owned by Android. I use this as my go-to for driving. It's much better interface and route selection is as good as Maps. Also I love the GPS speedo and speed warning. I tend to use Maps for location based searches like restaurants for the better reviews.

Re: Gmail, We Need to Talk

#200
post #23

GMail, we need to talk. We need to talk about how substring searches do not work, 11 years after your launch. We need to talk about how you've slowly engineered out everything that was good and unique about GMail. We need to talk about how you "flattened" the style, removed colors from threaded messages, and just decided to use shades of grey everywhere. We need to talk about how difficult it is to tell one message f…

It is amazing that Microsoft is spanking Google in web interfaces of all things. Google does great stuff, but their disregard for the end user experience just ruins it. Office 365 for email is dramatically better than GMail. Google Drive is much better, but I'm sure they will find a way to design that up too.

Also try the Outlook app. The interface for mail and calendar is wonderful. I use Nine on my phone now though as Outlook would often get slow/crash.
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