When Gmail first appeared in 2004, the idea of having what seemed like a never-ending space for email was revolutionary. Most paid services were provi

What Gmail Did to Email

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2024-10-16 16:00:10

When Gmail first appeared in 2004, the idea of having what seemed like a never-ending space for email was revolutionary. Most paid services were providing a few megabytes of space, and here came Google promising a full gigabyte (which, at the time, seemed huge) for free. I switched to Gmail in 2005, not long after it was first introduced (at least, April of that year is the earliest email I can find in my first account), and I — along with a lot of other users — haven’t looked back since.

For two decades, Gmail has been my main email app, and I have learned to tweak it to my needs. For example, I’ve created rules that automatically place custom labels on the appropriate emails (labels such as Conventions, Books, or, during the first months of the covid-19 pandemic, Masks). I immediately add a star to every message I consider vital and usually remember to check them later. I “snooze” bill reminders so they’ll pop back up a week before they’re due. And I try to keep up with any new features (and got royally pissed at Google for sunsetting its cool Inbox app).

Over the years, however, Gmail has added a plethora of features that it touts as “improvements” but some of which I find irritating. Its autocomplete feature, for example, suggests words or phrases that you can use in emails as you type, which I suppose can be useful but I often find to be a pain in the neck, as the proposed language interrupts my train of thought. Worse, it looks for ads for things that I will never need and sticks them at the top of my email list. (And no, Google, I have no intention of “customizing” my account.) More recently, I could do without the constant suggestions that I try out Google’s AI features when I’m perfectly capable of writing my own emails, thank you very much.