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How to Build an Email Client

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Re: How to Build an Email Client

#31

Post by Volpe »

buster wrote: post #28
slmbrhrt wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think slippery-slope is an appropriate argument to make here, or really anywhere. To answer the UI elements on the bottom, I'm not sure I actually press the Send button at all, instead opting for a keystroke depending on the client. The physical analogue I base my request off is the order I fill out a letter or card--I write my message, then I sign it, and then I seal and address the envelope. Beside that, wh…

First of all, i bet you that much more users click on a send button then press some arbitrary key combination. Second i bet you that most people find the send button easier when it's somewhere they expect. Where the other buttons are. Third, physical analog bla bla, really... Nobody thinks "hey i am writing an e-mail, that's just like real mail, EXCEPT i write on a keyboard, look on a screen and everything else i tou…

It is weird to ask for the subject of an email before writing an email.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who has change (or left blank to begin with) the subject once I've written the email.

Also I've observed a lot of people who write the content first then fill out the top (To, CC, BCC) after. Often the content effects who should/can see the email.

The current UX is wrong given mis-sending, mis-addressing still occurs.

Re: How to Build an Email Client

#32

Post by minikomi »

slmbrhrt wrote: post #12

Whatever you do when you build your client, do me one UI favor: Reverse the fields when composing. Body, then subject, then addressees, then the Send button. Think of all the headaches due to accidentally-sent mails the world over.

How about a send button that dynamically lists the recipients

[Send to: John Blabb, Mary Jones]

Re: How to Build an Email Client

#34

Post by reddit_clone »

Volpe wrote: post #31
buster wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First of all, i bet you that much more users click on a send button then press some arbitrary key combination. Second i bet you that most people find the send button easier when it's somewhere they expect. Where the other buttons are. Third, physical analog bla bla, really... Nobody thinks "hey i am writing an e-mail, that's just like real mail, EXCEPT i write on a keyboard, look on a screen and everything else i tou…

It is weird to ask for the subject of an email before writing an email. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has change (or left blank to begin with) the subject once I've written the email. Also I've observed a lot of people who write the content first then fill out the top (To, CC, BCC) after. Often the content effects who should/can see the email. The current UX is wrong given mis-sending, mis-addressing still occ…

>Also I've observed a lot of people who write the content first then fill out the top

I do that. Saves hassle of accidentally sending half finished emails.

Re: How to Build an Email Client

#35

Post by buster »

Volpe wrote: post #31
buster wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First of all, i bet you that much more users click on a send button then press some arbitrary key combination. Second i bet you that most people find the send button easier when it's somewhere they expect. Where the other buttons are. Third, physical analog bla bla, really... Nobody thinks "hey i am writing an e-mail, that's just like real mail, EXCEPT i write on a keyboard, look on a screen and everything else i tou…

It is weird to ask for the subject of an email before writing an email. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has change (or left blank to begin with) the subject once I've written the email. Also I've observed a lot of people who write the content first then fill out the top (To, CC, BCC) after. Often the content effects who should/can see the email. The current UX is wrong given mis-sending, mis-addressing still occ…

That's why i said A/B testing would be nice. Because now i can tell you exactly the oposite of what you tell me.

I have 18000 mails in my work mail account (no spam amongst them, mostly "real" mail), 43000 emails in my gmail account (which is not even that old) and not a single mail with half-written content or whatever. This includes mails by extremely tech-unsavy people. I also never did the mistake you mention myself, despite the UI so flawed.

And i've observed that most people start by adding the recipients first, then content, then subject and then maybe in the end they decide to add a CC. So would a UI with To, then Content, then subject, then CC be better? Don't think so.

Also that interpretation of "the content effects who gets the mail" is REALLY flawed. It certainly effects if you add someone on CC, but not the person who you are talking to. Atleast i know to whom i write a mail before i even open the mail editor. I also know to whom i want to write a letter before i write a letter. Maybe i am crazy or even psychic, knowing who i want to talk to beforehand :P

In the end i think your ideas try to solve a problem that does not really exist (not in my experience) or even if it exists that the disadvantage of confusing customers would outweight the minor percentage of people that would be helped by far.

Re: How to Build an Email Client

#36

Post by Volpe »

buster wrote: post #35
Volpe wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is weird to ask for the subject of an email before writing an email. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has change (or left blank to begin with) the subject once I've written the email. Also I've observed a lot of people who write the content first then fill out the top (To, CC, BCC) after. Often the content effects who should/can see the email. The current UX is wrong given mis-sending, mis-addressing still occ…

That's why i said A/B testing would be nice. Because now i can tell you exactly the oposite of what you tell me. I have 18000 mails in my work mail account (no spam amongst them, mostly "real" mail), 43000 emails in my gmail account (which is not even that old) and not a single mail with half-written content or whatever. This includes mails by extremely tech-unsavy people. I also never did the mistake you mention mys…

I realise you've hit "someone is wrong on the internet" territory, and thus seem to be just ranting. But when you are telling me that peoples conceptual models of how to use email are flawed... you are losing credibility.

Computers should bend to people, not people to computers.

Quoting stats from your email accounts doesn't actually mean anything. You can't possibly make the claim you are making, only the sender knows if the email was 'finished' or not, not the receiver.

I didn't actually suggest any UI changes, only that existing UX (as in the experience) seems sub-optimal, because problems still occur.

Re: How to Build an Email Client

#39

Post by eta_carinae »

I installed the Chrome plug-in, played with it for a while and ended up uninstalling. The problem is that I now have extra labels called Brand and Personal that just won't go away. I deleted them, double checked that there were no filters left, and still, they come back.

Anybody encounter this problem? It's very annoying.

And a good reminder why I don't let third party access my Gmail inbox :-(

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