I have been using Hotmail (in all its versions) for the past few years, but I've noticed that a lot of friends are switching to Gmail. A quick search revealed generally favorable reviews, but also some concerns as to the privacy of your emails. if any of you have recommendations (whether for Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, or some other email program that doesn't get a lot of publicity), I would definitely appreciate them.
I've got accounts in each of those three services. The only thing I'd comment on is that mail seems to get delivered quicker to either my Hotmail or Yahoo accounts than it does to my Gmail account.
I don't use Gmail as my main e-mail, but I do use GMail more than Yahoo or Hotmail. I actually haven't checked the other two accounts in years.
My biggest complaint about GMail - and if someone knows how to do this, please let me know - is the inability to create subfolders. It really drives me nuts that you cannot filter incoming e-mail to subfolders as a way to organize your e-mail.
Other than that, I like how everything is integrated, and I also like how Google takes a "less is more" approach with regards to the interface. But it's a little too simple, as the lack of subfolders and the ability to filter to subfolders based on specific criteria is a MAJOR minus for a contemporary email client.
I've had Hotmail do a horrible job of sorting spam lately. It's like hey, here's 20 emails from randomname@viagra.com. And I'll mark them all as spam, and open it tomorrow, and there's 20 more. I get much less spam in my inbox in Gmail.
GMail doesn't support folders at all, really, but it supports "labels" as a different way of categorizing mail. I believe Google argues they are more powerful than folders because you can tag a message with multiple labels. I know I'm used to folders and I've found labels a little harder to wrap my head around, but folks I know who are not as tied to the notion of hierarchical structure tend to find it more intuitive.
There is a way to do what you're looking to do:
1. Using Settings->Labels, create a label. Labels appear in the interface in a green box on the left hand side.
2. Under Settings->Filters, click on "Create a new filter"
3. Fill in the criteria you want to use (from address, to address, subject, etc.). Click "Next Step>>".
4. Click the checkbox for "Apply the Label" and select the appropriate label.
5. If you do not wish for the mail to stay in the inbox with all your other mail, click the checkbox next to "Skip the Inbox (Archive it)".
Originally posted by Mr. BoffoI've had Hotmail do a horrible job of sorting spam lately. It's like hey, here's 20 emails from randomname@viagra.com. And I'll mark them all as spam, and open it tomorrow, and there's 20 more. I get much less spam in my inbox in Gmail.
I use my user name here at both Hotmail and Yahoo. At Gmail, I use my first name dot last name. I get far more spam at Gmail, but I figure that's due to spammers targetting that sort of user name.
I have a few accounts at Yahoo and a couple more at Gmail. For some reason, the account I have at Gmail that I have NEVER EVER GIVEN OUT TO ANY PERSON, FORM, or WEBSITE gets the more spam than all of my other accounts (Y! or G) combined.
Originally posted by tarnish GMail doesn't support folders at all, really, but it supports "labels" as a different way of categorizing mail. I believe Google argues they are more powerful than folders because you can tag a message with multiple labels.
Yeah, see, that's doesn't really jive with my personal philosophy around e-mail organization - which is to keep as much email out of my inbox as is reasonably possible. Don't get me wrong, plenty of email hits my inbox, but if I didn't have filters in place I would have a horrible time managing my incoming mail (see also: my coworkers).
But I also have e-mails from 1997, so I am kind of a weirdo in that regard.
I like Gmail, but I also use a lot of other Google things like Google Documents, Google Chat, and I really like that I can show the first few emails in my in box on my Google Homepage.
I'm so making cookies for my Google overlords when the revolution comes.
Originally posted by Leroy Yeah, see, that's doesn't really jive with my personal philosophy around e-mail organization - which is to keep as much email out of my inbox as is reasonably possible. Don't get me wrong, plenty of email hits my inbox, but if I didn't have filters in place I would have a horrible time managing my incoming mail (see also: my coworkers).
But I also have e-mails from 1997, so I am kind of a weirdo in that regard.
I totally agree and also tend toward the extreme in filtering mail.
My previous post specifies exactly how to keep labeled mail out of your inbox under GMail using the built-in labeling and filtering capabilities. Labels are just like folders in the way you navigate them. Choosing whether to "archive" a mail after it has been labelled is what determines whether it goes "into a folder" or stays in your inbox with the label(s) attached. Give it a try; it takes a little getting used to, but works okeefine.
In terms of which service is better, I haven't used Hotmail or YMail since they've been redone. I've never had a problem with a mail not reaching my GMail inbox, and almost always in a timely fashion (and the few times it hasn't been, examination of the headers suggests that wasn't GMail's fault). As a hoarder, being able to search my mail with Google-style search is a godsend. You can force everything to plaintext (or not, as the case may be). You can do IMAP/POP, and it's over secure connections. And there are some very cool doodads available through the Google Labs options (I just enabled them yesterday, but I've now got the fixed-width font option, custom keyboard shortcuts, and a mark-as-read button).
Frankly, any mail system that stores your mail online is a privacy concern. Just because Google does the targeted ad thing doesn't mean Microsoft or Yahoo isn't scanning your mail for keywords. The only way to ensure your mail is private is to run your own mail exchanger and mail store and to use encryption on everything.
Originally posted by Sec19Row53At Gmail, I use my first name dot last name.
Same here, and apparently there's another person who shares my first and last name, but for his Gmail account, there is no dot in between in his first and last name. I actually end up being able to read some of his email, and this really concerns me since I get a few online statements via email, so who is to say he is not reading some of my stuff?
This really bothers me. I sent a "complaint" of sorts to Google to bring this to their attention, but never heard back. They really need to address this issue.
Originally posted by tarnishMy previous post specifies exactly how to keep labeled mail out of your inbox under GMail using the built-in labeling and filtering capabilities.
The funny part of this story is that I've actually set up "label filters" on my GMail account, and yet, I've never noticed this.
So, uh... yeah. You're totally right.
In my defense, I don't think they functioned exactly this way when I first set them up. But, at this point, I wouldn't believe me either.
Edit: You know, I may not be AS stupid as I thought, as it seems there is no method by which to filter mail from your inbox that you've already received. The filter does apply the label, but the e-mail remains visible in my inbox.
Originally posted by Sec19Row53At Gmail, I use my first name dot last name.
Same here, and apparently there's another person who shares my first and last name, but for his Gmail account, there is no dot in between in his first and last name. I actually end up being able to read some of his email, and this really concerns me since I get a few online statements via email, so who is to say he is not reading some of my stuff?
This really bothers me. I sent a "complaint" of sorts to Google to bring this to their attention, but never heard back. They really need to address this issue.
Gmail doesn't really use dots to discern usernames (other than when you're first logging in), so dots ANYWHERE in your username will all come to you - so, I get mail for chris.zimmerman, chriszimmerman (which I know is automatically spam), and mail for c.h.r.i.s.zimmerman would come to that same Gmailbox. I'm sure they have a FAQ on this somewhere. Ah, here it is: http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&ctx=mail&answer=10313
Originally posted by Sec19Row53At Gmail, I use my first name dot last name.
Same here, and apparently there's another person who shares my first and last name, but for his Gmail account, there is no dot in between in his first and last name. I actually end up being able to read some of his email, and this really concerns me since I get a few online statements via email, so who is to say he is not reading some of my stuff?
This really bothers me. I sent a "complaint" of sorts to Google to bring this to their attention, but never heard back. They really need to address this issue.
Gmail doesn't really use dots to discern usernames (other than when you're first logging in), so dots ANYWHERE in your username will all come to you - so, I get mail for chris.zimmerman, chriszimmerman (which I know is automatically spam), and mail for c.h.r.i.s.zimmerman would come to that same Gmailbox. I'm sure they have a FAQ on this somewhere. Ah, here it is: http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&ctx=mail&answer=10313
Wow, one could use that to their advantage. I could give a different e-mail address (with different quantities of dots) for each place I choose to register. If I get spam for one of those addresses (other than the people who send out spam to every possible address [my username is only 5 letters, so I get a fair amount of that]), then I know who sold my address to spammers.
I can't claim any experience with Microsoft's current web-based email, but I use Google Mail, Calendar, and Docs (occasionally), and the iGoogle homepage and I love the way they work together.
Originally posted by Mr. BoffoWow, one could use that to their advantage. I could give a different e-mail address (with different quantities of dots) for each place I choose to register. If I get spam for one of those addresses (other than the people who send out spam to every possible address [my username is only 5 letters, so I get a fair amount of that]), then I know who sold my address to spammers.
According to an article I read on lifehacker.com (lifehacker.com), there is an even better way than that:
Originally posted by LifehackerLet's say you need to sign up for a mailing list that interests you, but you're afraid spammers might get your address. We'll call the list "exoticflowers". Sign up with the list using the address "johndoe+exoticflowers@gmail.com". Email to that address will still come to your "johndoe@gmail.com" address even though the "To:" will include that "+exoticflowers" in it.
In addition, there are a bunch of other Gmail hacks to be found there-- some use Greasemonkey (a Firefox add-on) scripts to create a functionality that doesn't exist yet; others take advantage of existing functionality.
It appears to be a somewhat common problem from this Google search. I read through the first few links, and they'll take you through fixing it (hopefully).