New Mandatory GMail Compose

Mr. Analog · August 27, 2013, 10:03:13 AM

Once again Google has foisted unnecessary change to something that was working and didn't need changing, the new e-mail composition window in GMail has now become mandatory.

By default it appears as a tiny editing window in the bottom right blindspot, they've added a "full screen" option which doesn't actually make the editing window anything close to full screen, more like 65% screen, and it still compresses the editing window to something nearly un-useable.

You can leave feedback about it here:
http://goo.gl/xgXzd1

Lazybones · August 27, 2013, 10:23:08 AM

I don't like it however I don't compose gmail messages very often on my PC anymore.

Tom · August 27, 2013, 10:27:34 AM

I dont really write many messages via gmail for personal stuff. I do for work, since they use gapps. but meh. I'd proabably only care if I used my gmail for more.

Mr. Analog · August 27, 2013, 10:48:39 AM

GMail is my primary mail client / service, I use it a lot, and when they tinker with stuff I feel it. I think what makes it worse is that I have to have it zoomed between 150 and 250%

I really think that I'll have to move to a client

Tom · August 27, 2013, 11:09:12 AM

The main reason I never switched to gmail is because they @%&# with mailing lists when used over pop3. So if thats the route you were planning on, don't. should be fine over imap however.

Now if you want to talk google messing with a good thing, Youtube. They keep breaking it. And not just silly changes just for the sake of making changes, but actual breakage, and it takes them days or weeks to fix. It's like they don't test anything.

Darren Dirt · August 27, 2013, 11:14:00 AM

plenty of voices singing basically the same song...

I'm sorry, but I expect products and services to meet MY needs and not for me to be required to change to meet theirs. Yes, sometimes changing work habits to take advantage of new capabilities is a good, even great, idea, but in this case I would gain nothing for myself by changing except making a system I don't want anyhow work marginally better than it does now and not nearly as well as it did previously. What benefit is there to me, the user?

I totally dislike the "new" compose. It is lousy. Harder to format emails, more mouse clicks to get to CC, BCC, shows me less of what I am writing or replying to...

Why on earth would anyone in their right mind make changes that make it harder for the users to get their job done, then force it on everyone without choice.

I have been a gmail user for years put up with its many quirks, lack of folders, to near invisible scroll bars to see labels and contacts on the left of the screen.

The latest change is really the limit and I am considering going back to a mail program instead of using browser based gmail.

I really hate this one.

Why does google wants to change something, if it is not broken.
Everything was fine earlier, the old compose was the reason I created a Gmail account, it was so simple and productive.

Now, you have to click so many times for the same thing which you can do with just a single click in old version. SHAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yahoo can rejoice now as millions of users will switch back to good old yahoo again.

but at least there's this useful post... (Google, please seriously consider the suggestions! IT REALLY JUST BOILS DOWN TO CONSISTENCY + GIVING THE USER *CHOICE*, geez stop being evil mkay)
http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/gmail/10vlXAH5jKo/n254uSXjal0J

also, funny to see Google slower in admitting a bad decision than Microsoft:

Quote
The 450-million-user figure has been quoted by Google and its shills to explain why they can't provide each of us with our own custom UI. But I would turn that around and ask, for a product being used by 450 million accounts (NOT that many USERS, let's be clear, and let's count users as carefully as we count posters), the following questions:

1. How many users were complaining about the existing interface?
2. What compelling reason did Google have to force hundreds of millions of users onto a learning curve for a dramatically new UI?
3. Since the change, how many users have spontaneously taken the time to locate this forum (or another one like it) and post a POSITIVE review of the new UI?

Yeah, good questions!

Darren Dirt · August 27, 2013, 11:28:11 AM

Apparently all your issues are resolved if you use the keyboard SHIFT or CTRL keys

http://productforums.google.com/d/msg/gmail/10vlXAH5jKo/x4tSM3l527MJ

Lazybones · August 27, 2013, 12:38:40 PM

You could always use an IMAP email client if you are hard core email users on the desktop.

Tom · August 27, 2013, 12:46:20 PM

Quote from: Lazybones on August 27, 2013, 12:38:40 PM
You could always use an IMAP email client if you are hard core email users on the desktop.

Used to be I couldn't. As it was incredibly slow with my mail client of choice. Now, it seems to be pretty darn speedy, so I actually did recently switch to IMAP.

One other issue was that the old "offline imap" support for said client wanted to download all your email. ALL of it. And not just all of it, but it treated the same email that happened to be in multiple folders/tags as separate emails, so it ended up wanting to download it two or more times.

Royal pain. But that client's IMAP support is a lot smarter now. just one annoying bug left.

Speaking of imap.. my new mail server is going to rock so hard. If anyone is at all looking at a decent mail service... let me know

the web interface is going to be roundcube, and it'll do smtps, imaps, and pop3s. full support for IMAP IDLE, probably add push support, decent spam handling (better than shaw's at any rate). Currently in the middle of whipping up some management code... but once that's done, I'll finish the migration, and I can host any domain, so long as you own it

point your mx at it and away you go.

Mr. Analog · August 27, 2013, 01:26:48 PM

DD you and I are in the same boat, I use my mobile client app for GMail a lot but most of my use is done through the web interface. Up until the last year or so it was actually preferable to other choices. But I'm at the point now where simple things are getting harder and harder to do, hell even loggin out is two clicks. I'm also getting a little fed up of having to integrate G+ with every damn Google service I use, I don't like G+. It's like the business plan is to consolidate everything into a giant Facebook rival and I want no part of that.

Services in general have been declining in both usability and features for a couple years now. I guess I'll have to dust off Thunderbird or something...

Man, I haven't used a mail client for at home stuff for probably 10 years

Lazybones · August 27, 2013, 02:30:20 PM

Getting new versions and constant application changes is both the benefit and curse of cloud applications.

There is only one version of the app, the live version.

If you want consistency you kind of need to use desktop apps.

Tom · August 27, 2013, 02:48:54 PM

Quote from: Lazybones on August 27, 2013, 02:30:20 PM
Getting new versions and constant application changes is not the benefit and curse of cloud applications.

There is only one version of the app, the live version.

If you want consistency you kind of need to use desktop apps.

Assuming that desktop app is still compatible with your system.

Lazybones · August 27, 2013, 02:51:36 PM

Quote from: Tom on August 27, 2013, 02:48:54 PM
Quote from: Lazybones on August 27, 2013, 02:30:20 PM
Getting new versions and constant application changes is not the benefit and curse of cloud applications.

There is only one version of the app, the live version.

If you want consistency you kind of need to use desktop apps.
Assuming that desktop app is still compatible with your system.

I fixed a typo in my comment.

Correct, and that is why when they announce the death of IMAP support that you move to a new service

Lazybones · August 27, 2013, 02:53:17 PM

If you still want a webbased client you could use one of these as a front end http://www.noupe.com/ajax/10-ajax-webmail-clients.html and access GMAIL via IMAP.

Mr. Analog · August 27, 2013, 03:29:28 PM

Nice alternative there, I may play with that tonight, thanks!

The funny thing is that the Google Dev team often rolls out changes in beta with opt-in/out options and gets feedback months before launching features, how they choose to use this information so far has not been very impressive. To be fair, not all changes to GMail illicit such a negative response, most users loved the new custom category system but there was a lot of vocal opposition to the changes to the composition window when the beta first appeared late 2012 and again in early 2013. The response from Google at first was completely unyielding, then the media got a hold of it and they started feeling the burn from the public, then in early summer they added a "full screen" button, which got lukewarm response from the few engaged beta testers but didn't address the real problem that the composition window has been made too small for document editing.

I also find the basis for this change dubious, Google claimed that the majority of e-mail communication sent through GMail is as short as an IM message and therefore is the dominant form of e-mail (I question this analysis). At any rate, they've modified the one part of e-mail everyone uses without any kind of option to configure it. Not smart.

Given how big this issue has gotten already I suspect there will be a feature rollback, at least I hope so.

I should have known this crap was going to come back one day, I had hoped that they really had fixed it so you could select the type of interface you wanted to use, but no what they have given us is, yet again, substandard.