The Daily Whim
All The News That Fits My Whim
Tue. Nov 13, 2007
An Open Email to Gmail
Dear Gmail,
I’m sorry to have to write you publicly like this, but you have left me little choice, and I have a couple of bones to pick with you.
1. Look in the bottom right corner of your logo. It says “BETA.” We won’t get into the argument that being in “BETA” since April of 2004 represents an underlying fear of commitment. We’ll just say that an app that presents itself as in “BETA,” even for 3.5 years, ought to have clear and simple ways for their “BETA” users to provide feedback about problems with the “BETA” application. You do not. I looked and looked, clicked and clicked. The closest thing I could find was a form for “Got a feature suggestion for Gmail?” So I suggested several things, including get out of “BETA” in less than one presidential term, or have an “easy to find” form for submitting problems.
2. Now, what exactly was the real problem I wanted to submit? You’ve recently forced a “New Version” of your interface on IE7 and Firefox 2 users. I’ll be danged if I can tell a difference from the old one, other than slightly larger text. And the fact I had to disable previously useful Gmail extensions to get the “New Version” to work. Oh, and one other big difference … every time I try to search my email, it crashes my browser (Firefox 2.0/PC). Every time. It is as repeatable as sunrise. This makes your “New Version” useless to me.
I imagine your site stats are different than mine, which show 28% of my visitors are using Firefox. But I can’t imagine that you haven’t had voluminous reports about this problem from Firefox users.
Oh, that’s right. You are a beta application with a new interface that does not have a form for submitting problems. Thus, this open email.
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It’s just in BETA until the war’s over.
I heard it was just until Duke Nukem Forever comes out.
I’ve also found out that if I perform a certain sequence of a dozen clicks or so, a sort of relevant form will appear where I might submit my wail. It’s like a puzzle, apparently.
I learned this is one of the forums prominently linked from the Gmail Help section as a place to ask questions … where you then find out from posters, “oh, Gmail techs don’t monitor this place.”
Disclaimer: I’m using the linux version of firefox 2.0.0.8 but I can’t get it to crash using the search function. I’ll try Windows tomorrow. The only gmail extensions I’m using are the check your mail thing and browser sync, but both still work.
I had been considering updating to their $50/yr deal (as I recall) where they could handle all my domain mail with their admittedly superior spam handling features, but after reading this, I think I’ll pass for the time being. I’ve kind of gotten used to teaching Spamassassin in the morning anyway.
As for the other thing, at least they admit they’re still in beta.
Firefox 5.0 here… works great!
Ooops… I meant Firefox 2.0 here… works great! sorry!
I must admit that I haven’t had this problem.
This got me wondering what extensions you’re running. And I realized that you’d posted them a while back here
I didn’t say so at the time, but I loved that post.
I’m no longer using nearly as many extensions as back then, as a result of a few cullings. I’m also no longer using any extensions related to Gmail.
I suppose in my copious spare time, I can make sure I am updated to the latest sub-point release of Firefox, disable all plug-ins, and try to get Gmail to crash my browser.
Because i really have little else to do but make sure my previously working software conforms exactly to the new Gmail interface.
Joy. Now it crashes when I send an email with an attachment. It wasn’t broke, until Gmail “fixed” it, and now I have to spend my time fixing it, too.
Grrr. Where do I send my invoice?
I use POPPeeper to gather mail. Until this latest GMail change, it and PP worked quite well together, but now there are problems. I’m not particularly happy about having to manually check multiple accounts.
And I’ve had some issues with GMail not sending stuff until I go backwards and forwards with the browser – not just in Firefox, either, but IE 7 as well.
Google needs to remember the old axiom, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It was working just fine…
I just wanted to note … on a brand new MacBook, running a brand new Bootcamp install of WinXP, fully updated, using a brand new freshest-available sub-point version of Firefox and minimal plug-ins … Gmail’s new interface crashes upon search … just as on my desktop.
Very strange. I thought it was probably some plugin that didn’t get along with the new Gmail. I can’t get Gmail to crash firefox no matter what I try, even running it on a new install of WinXP running on linux. I did notice that Gmail allows you to select between the older version and the newer version, but I still couldn’t get it to crash, either way.
I stuck the Firefox 3.0 beta on one of my machines to see if it sucked up less RAM, and it appears to, but I can’t get version 3.0 to crash Gmail either. Unfortunately, Browser Sync doesn’t work on the beta yet, but not having the sucking RAM vortex makes up for that to some extent.
Maybe it has to do with running a MAC in the same room with a PC? I know some knowledgeable person in a newsgroup was warning about Macs a while back. How about IE7?
“How about IE7?”
If I have to use IE7 just to check my mail, you might as well put a stamp on anything you want me to see. So, no, I haven’t tried it.
“If I have to use IE7 just to check my mail, you might as well put a stamp on anything you want me to see. So, no, I haven’t tried it.”
Can’t blame me for trying….well, oh okay.
Seriously, all I can figure is “minimal plug-ins”. Which is kind of contrary to what I thought the philosophy behind Google and Gmail was all about: don’t most people use Firefox these days?
I went back into my Vmware install of WinXP in linux to try again running search. The search function works fine, both in new and old versions of Gmail. On the other hand, I have zero plugins installed and only the default theme. There’s probably an event logged of the crashes, but if it’s a plug-in cause, it may be kind of cryptic.