Gmail

[Mpprh]

Hi

I've been playing with Gmail.

One advantage is that it will receive large attachments.

This could be useful for some

Peter

[vrooje<BR>Cheers,<br>-Brooke<BR><br><B><A TARGET=blank HREF="http:www.experienceburgundy.com">http:www.experienceburgundy.com<A><B>]

I like Gmail a lot. It has an interesting way of keeping track of message threads.

Do people still need an invite to sign up for it? I've got half a dozen that I'm not using...

[Ianhaycox]

I use GMail (I like it alot) but NOT for business use. It's just for personal mail, e.g. Forum reply notifications, mailing lists, etc. You may think I'm paranoid, and 'if your not doing anything wrong you have got nothing to worry about', but;

you may wish to read, http://www.google-watch.org/gmail.html, and http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/07/eu_foul_gmail/ and http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/03/google_mail_is_evil_privacy/ and http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/13/ban_google_email/ and http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/13/asymmetric_privacy/.

It's just FYI

[Mazan]

I wouldn't use Gmail if I was paid to do so.
I also have grave doubts about both receiving and sending messages from/to Gmail accounts and will probably not do so if (when) the service becomes popular.

[Will]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is Gmail and how does it differ from ordinary e-mail?

[Boghound]

[quote]I wouldn't use Gmail if I was paid to do so. I also have grave doubts about both receiving and sending messages from/to Gmail accounts and will probably not do so if (when) the service becomes popular...[/quote]

Why?

[Ianhaycox]

GMail

[Mazan]

Gmail is very similar in function to other webmail services as provided by most ISPs, though it offers some extra search facilities and a larger amount of storage.

The main difference is in the T&Cs of the Gmail service. Basically by using it you agree to letting Google have full access to, and full use of, all your incoming and outgoing email forever. That includes deleted emails which, it seems, are never completely deleted.

I consider this to be totally unacceptable for obvious reasons. In fact I'm astounded that anyone would agree to this unless they just didn't realise what they were agreeing to.

[Will]

Thank you. So it's basically an e-mail service provided by Google. I can see the attraction, having lost e-mail records in the past due to computer crashes. However I share the concern about privacy and related issues so I don't think I'll be using it unless that changes.

[Boghound]

[quote]Gmail is very similar in function to other webmail services as provided by most ISPs, though it offers some extra search facilities and a larger amount of storage. The main difference is in the T&...[/quote]

I hate to break this to you but all the Emails circlating around Europe and the States are monitered all the time. I just forget, because I've better things to do with my time, what the system is called but it picks up on certain key words and stores/moniters that particuler Email.

[Dick Smith]

That's true, but from what I have read Google uses keywords in your e-mails for targeted advertising, which is possibly even worse. You're right that no-one has any such thing as a private e-mail conversation (or phone call, for that matter, from what I gather).

[Mazan]

I hate to break this to you but all the Emails circlating around Europe and the States are monitered all the time.

This is certainly not news. However, there is a huge difference between government bodies scanning emails for certain words and a private company storing all my incoming and outgoing messages regardless of content and using them as it wishes with the my full (but probably unwitting) consent. Even the government doesn't do that, as far as we know.

I just forget, because I've better things to do with my time, what the system is called but it picks up on certain key words and stores/moniters that particuler Email.

You are thinking of Carnivore and Echelon, amongst others.

[Dick Smith]

Wasn't there an attempt to get ISPs (I think Demon was the test case) to keep all old e-mails? May have been the result of a libel case, though, rather than security. I believe that once triggered there can be an automatic storage of all e-mails from a particular account. GCHQ has been mentioned - I think we do it for the Americans and they do it for us, then neither of us is spying on our own citizens.

One reason given for the jam in internet and mobile phone messages on September 11th and subsequent few days was that all messages were being monitored, which slowed the systems down. Might be paranoid nonsense, but I heard it from a good source.

[Richardk]

I think concerns on Google being able to read and re-use the contents of your email needs to be viewed in the context of what you use email for.  If it's simply keeping touch with friends, bookings for whatever (your B & B, Gite.....), what you did last Sunday then really, who cares what they do with it.

If you're emails are of a more sensitive nature (business perhaps), then I would share others concerns regarding privacy. I would have thought in this instance though that people would have their own domain and hence email address anyhow, so no need for Gmail.

If they offer a better service than others (& I've no idea if they do or don't), and your emails are the general mundane stuff that most are then go for it. As Peter said, they offer large attachments which for some with emailing of pictures this could be useful I imagine.