Love Gmail, except that it doesn't seem to have a method to file messages. If it does, someone tell me! There are lots of features but I haven't even figured them out. The chat function is great.

It's used by most of the younger generation, whereas AOL was the big back in the day ;)

Gmail is great. I use it more than my yahoo or comcast.net accounts for personal e-mail.

It has a feature that allows the creation of labels, (soup, nuts, cheese). Check the e-mail to which you want to assign a particular label and assign from the drop down list at the top of the page. E-mail can also be archived to clean up the inbox. Check the e-mail to be cleared and use the archive at the top left.

The search feature is fantastic. Just type a word or two of what you are seeking. All the e-mails with that word appear in the search list.

HTH,
Judy

I got sick of those too! Disgusting. I started a gmail account to test it out and so far there are no ads like that. They do use keywords in your emails to feed you advertisements, but they are small text ads. So eventually I'll switch in total.

Gina, I checked out gmail, too. I think I will make the switch. what is really terrific is gmail will import your contacts from Yahoo and Hotmail and others. They'll also retrieve your emails from those accounts for 30 days. That makes the switch less painful.

Now I have to choose an address. I'm thinking my initials and birthdate (day and year). The name of my street, maybe? I looked through my contacts and it seems most people use something having to do with their name. I have a common last name so most addresses with my name are taken. I also don't like my last name because I got it from my ex-h.

I can;t come up with anything clever that I won't feel idiotic saying to people.

I've been using gmail for a job I've been doing for the past three weeks. I'm not really crazy about it. I don't like the way sent and in mail is linked, for starters. But I can see why some people would love it. I just like to keep it simple, I don't have time to mess with all the bells and whistles, but if you do, it would be great I think. I get free e-mail from my ISP that I can log in to via the Web, and there are not ads on it. I haven't even noticed the ones on yahoo, which I use for orders and such. Honestly, the ads on GardenWeb are the ones that really disgust me!

Switched to gmail a few years ago and wish I had done it sooner. So easy to follow a converstation, to find an email and it can label and file very simply.

Gmail is my favorite too.

Lpinkmountain, I know what you mean about the mail linking, but I got used to it. My pop-up blocker on Firefox seems to stop the GW ads that folks complain about.

I use gmail and yahoo, but I like hotmail better for being simple and keeping out all spam. I have hotmail set so that all mail that is not from someone in my address book automatically gets filed as spam. If I am expecting something from a new source, I check the spam folder and can open whatever I want and then add the sender to my address book. For me, this works better than gmail, which has not filing system whatsoever, that I am aware of. I find gmail very confusing, but I do use it a lot - more than yahoo now, although I use yahoo for family. Hotmail is more similar to yahoo, but I haven't noticed as many ads with hotmail as with yahoo.

Lars

Lars, does Hotmail update automatically, ie, if someone sends me a message, will I find that out without having to manually refresh the screen? I do have an account there that I don't use too often. I've used Yahoo for years and years and it's basically great, but I don't like how that sidebar comes on with the ads and takes up so much room, although I guess I could do away with that by paying $19 or some such thing.

I have an auxiliary account with Gmail and what I don't like is how they lock you out if you screw up a password. I have had two accounts that have done that. My main work acct doesn't allow for large data files so I need an auxiliary account. I didn't take time to record the password or use a "regular" one since others might want to access these files too. I ended up with a Yahoo account. If there's a password screw up they just reset it and I'm good to go. I use Mozilla so haven't noticed the ads. I do like that you allow someone to be a regular sender in your contacts, but Gmail is good otherwise.

Like others I have more then one. I never use an ISP account anymore. ISP service always slips into dial-up speed and then you have to change providers to get decent service again for awhile. One of the hooks they use to keep you from leaving is the e-mail box... a pita to change your address.

I use different e-mail accounts for different things. I have a family/work only gmail account. I love the quick reply option. Yahoo gets most anybody that might spam me. Most shopping I do on the net gets confirmations and ads sent to Yahoo. Some I do like to see what is on sale so I allow the sale ads. Makes it feel like I'm going shopping because that is what I set out for... not just some ad that popped in my face when I was busy. Facebook and GW both connect to the Yahoo account. Makes it nice when I have limited time and want to see just the most important family/work items. When I have time and mood to shop I can hit Yahoo mail. My current ISP has one foot in the grave for selling me 500kps and delivering 250kps... then 100kps... then 75... then 50... and now 30. It will be nice to just call them after I've switched again and tell them their stuff is in a box at the curb.... my mail won't be an issue.

: )
lyra

Don't pick an email address that gives away too much personal information. Like your birthdate. Your First.Lastname@gmail.com is always good, or some permutation of that.

And you can always have a couple of Gmail accounts, one for work and one for home, etc.

I love gmail. I've used it for a few years now, since back when you had to have an invitation to get in. They've made some significant improvements over the years and I use it exclusively (except for work). I've even come to appreciate the conversation threading, though it took me a little bit.

Oh, and I can't help but proselytize a bit for Firefox with adblock plus (plus is the newer/more fully featured incarnation of adblock). I never even knew that GW had ads on the site until I read lpink's comment! ABP does a great job of getting rid of the clutter and making surfing a much more pleasant experience.

Thanks, Bri. I haven't made the switch yet. I agree about Firefox, which I use at home. I can't download it at work, so I am stuck with IE.