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A new Gmail inbox

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Re: A new Gmail inbox

#121

Post by Smudge »

lallysingh wrote: post #19
jcfrei wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm just gonna hijack this thread in case any gmail devs are dropping by. the new compose box is a joke - why would you force users to write emails in a small window in the bottom right corner?!

I felt the same way at first. Then I noticed two things: (1) I could write several messages at once. Useful if you want to look things up, and keep multi-tasking. (2) I can refer to other messages while writing one.

So we're managing windows inside of our browser inside of our window manager.

Re: A new Gmail inbox

#122

Post by wyck »

adastra wrote: post #79

Disaster. 1) I just turned it on, and it is not customizable at all . You cannot create custom tabs, and you can't even pick what goes into the tabs they have created. 2) When you turn it on, it disables Gmail's multiple inbox. Multiple inbox is the only thing saving my email from being a complete and utter disaster right now. 3) Judging by how they are forcing the new compose on everyone it is reasonable to expect t…

I hate the new compose. I think the mail UI team need to make a poster that says.

"If it's not broken, don't fix it"

Re: A new Gmail inbox

#123

Post by Ives »

Osmium wrote: post #112
Timothee wrote: post #40

I find all these new email products (Sparrow, Mailbox, etc.) interesting on a UI/UX level but they're highly irrelevant to me. I always read about how hard it has become to manage one's inbox, but I really don't have a problem with it. My system is simple: do not sign-up for newsletter or notifications (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, GitHub, etc.) you won't read, unsubscribe anytime you realize you don't read the ones you r…

How about those newsletters you're happy to read occasionally, but you don't want to interrupt you with notifications etc.? I've got into the habit of marking all email with "unsubscribe" in it as read by default. I'll still see it when I open up my inbox, but it avoids me ever seeing a notification for something useless.

For those, you have a filter that archives them and gives them a label. If you want to read them, open the label.

Re: A new Gmail inbox

#126

Post by simonsarris »

Oooh I like this very much, though it looks like I'm not allowed to play with it just yet on my account.

Labels and filters solve several Gmail problems but demand too much footwork on my part. I found that my Gmail experience got better when I adopted this credo about two weeks ago:

Thou shalt have but one Gmail label, and that label's name shalt be "Needs Reply".

Either it can wait, and be there when I specifically look (search) for it, or it needs a reply. I need to know which emails need replies, and I generally need to label them manually.

Labels beyond this I view as a distraction. I used to label everything, now I label nothing. The fewer you can use the better, I think.

And yet I still want a label or two for all the semi-solicited mail I get. Things that I do not need in my inbox, but ought to be there for my idle perusement: Banana Republic sales, MyHabit "deals", Newegg dailies, Kindle book of the day deals, and so on.

And then there are things like Facebook updates. Nice to know, but I'll get to them eventually anyway the next time I open up Facebook, which I look at about as much as my grandmother checks the weather (read: Every hour, and for no reason).

If this wants to distill my system for me then I'm ready with open arms. Bigger tabs at the top are way better than a hard-to-parse list on the side. Can't they turn it off for a complainer and roll it out to me?

Re: A new Gmail inbox

#127

Post by jonny_eh »

simonsarris wrote: post #126

Oooh I like this very much, though it looks like I'm not allowed to play with it just yet on my account. Labels and filters solve several Gmail problems but demand too much footwork on my part. I found that my Gmail experience got better when I adopted this credo about two weeks ago: Thou shalt have but one Gmail label, and that label's name shalt be "Needs Reply". Either it can wait, and be there when I specifically…

For emails that need a reply, I just keep those as "marked unread". There's no way I forget about those.

Re: A new Gmail inbox

#128

Post by nirvdrum »

bbx wrote: post #38

The main difference I can see with labels (at least for power users) is that the mails get filtered automatically by Google in these categories. I believe that most of us here on HN won't see this feature as revolutionary but it might help the less tech-savvy ones. For quite some time, I've been happy with GMail because I set up a system through which each email is ultimately stored in one of my predefined labels. I…

outlook.com has a similar feature, but it seems far less obtrusive and a bit more useful. Having a "Shipping Notifications" category for instance has been really handy. My gut is the outlook.com implementation is more user friendly in general. But I'm happy to see two big email services now competing to add useful features (even if execution might be flawed at times).

Re: A new Gmail inbox

#129

Post by mankyd »

adastra wrote: post #79

Disaster. 1) I just turned it on, and it is not customizable at all . You cannot create custom tabs, and you can't even pick what goes into the tabs they have created. 2) When you turn it on, it disables Gmail's multiple inbox. Multiple inbox is the only thing saving my email from being a complete and utter disaster right now. 3) Judging by how they are forcing the new compose on everyone it is reasonable to expect t…

"...and you can't even pick what goes into the tabs they have created."

Sure you can. Just drag an email between them. It gives you the option to permanently move emails from that sender to a specific tab. Presumably, it also adapts to your selections, much like their priority and spam filters.

Re: A new Gmail inbox

#130

Post by rocky1138 »

jcfrei wrote: post #11
pkfrank wrote: post #6

I'm encouraged that they seem to allow you to toggle this new inbox on/off as you wish. In contrast to the "new" compose box which will eventually be forced onto everyone.

I'm just gonna hijack this thread in case any gmail devs are dropping by. the new compose box is a joke - why would you force users to write emails in a small window in the bottom right corner?!

I'm on the fence. I use it and love it. Then I read criticism of it and hate it. Then I read glowing praise of it and love it again. I just can't decide.
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