Gmail Quibbles

I generally like Gmail.  I like the way it threads conversations, and I like the way they make little improvements without making a big deal about it.  (E.g., they changed a clunky double labeling system to a single box where you can choose what to do with an email -- delete, forward, archive, or label it, and then if you choose to label it your label choices are right there in the same box, which is an improvement over having to go through two menus). 

Here are two improvements I would like to make.  I would like the ability to have two different browser windows, each open to a different Gmail account (I use two actively).  What seems to happen with Firefox is the two different browsers sync with one another so even if I started out logged into separate accounts they merge so I end up with two windows open to the same Gmail account.  This is mysterious to me, and has even resulted in an email message sent to one account ending up in the other account because while I had the message open the browser merged with the other account.  I am undoubtedly describing this in cloudy and imprecise terms, but I swear it is true.  And mildly irritating.

The second improvement I would like would be the ability to be drafting a message and access past messages, or my address book, without discarding or abandoning the message I'm working on.  I get around this by opening a second window, but it's a pain. 

The threading function might be improved if it distinguished between original emails and forwarded ones.  From time to time I'll have an email conversation going, and then I'll forward the email to a third party with commentary or questions (sometimes snarky) about the original email thread.  And the forwarded email becomes the start of a whole separate and different conversation with the third party, albeit with the same subject line.  They're all lumped in together in the Gmail interface and I'm always a little bit afraid that I've inadvertently sent the snarky forwarded conversation to the original recipient instead of my third party friend.  Of course, the best solution is a non-technical one; if I were never snarky or I never invited third-party comment on a conversation there would be no worries at all. 

If anyone out there still wants a Gmail invite, I'm happy to pass some along.  I figure by now anyone who wants a Gmail account has gotten it, but if that's not the case just ask. 

Comments

[pjm]

Can I quibble with your quibbles? You've got three. ;-)

The first one, how your browser can only "see" one account at a time, is probably a cookie issue; since HTTP is a "stateless" protocol (it doesn't maintain data about an ongoing string of clicks between requests to the server) Gmail is faking it using a cookie. Since browsers maintain cookies on a per-site basis, not a per-browser-window basis (or per-tab basis), FF is only capable of managing one "connection" (one cookie) at a time. If Gmail managed a way to share the one site cookie between two windows (possible, I think, but an interesting challenge) or used a different method of simulating a session, that would solve the problem.

[Anon]

As to your second gmail request, Gmail now has the ability to save drafts. This should solve your problem, no?

[Dylan]

I'm boggled that it doesn't seem to handle html, unless I'm doing something very wrong.

[Rufus]

And also, no rich text formatting.

[SF Librarian]

I also worry about whether I've inadvertently sent a snarky forwarded message to the original recipient when G-mail lumps my forwarded messages in with the original conversation thread! When I first started using G-mail, I almost had a heart attack when the first instance of this "lumping phenomenon" occurred with a forwarded snarky message. My husband certainly got a good laugh at my expense when I called him in a panic about it. I still think twice before forwarding when using G-mail even when I'm not being snarky because the grouping just looks confusing to me. And yes, I've learned my lesson and reined in my snarkiness since my scare.

[OLS]

Sure. I'd love a Gmail invite. I want to see what all the fuss is about and none of my "real" friends have one.

- OLS

[Charlie]

Problem:
your browser can only "see" one account at a time

I solved this by creating another profile for Firefox that I use only for viewing my second gmail account. Each profile has a separate space for storing cookies so you don't run into the problems that you described. It just takes some discipline to not use the browser running in the second profile for anything but gmail. Also, it would be nice to have both gmail accounts in separate tabs on the same window - but alas....