   #copyright

Gmail

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Websites and the Internet

   Gmail
   Gmail's beta logo
   Gmail screenshot
   Gmail Inbox
   Developer: Google
      OS:     Cross-platform (web-based application)
      Use:    POP3 e-mail, Webmail
    Website:  https://mail.google.com, http://www.gmail.com

   Gmail, officially Google Mail in the United Kingdom and Germany, is a
   free webmail and POP3 e-mail service provided by Google. Known for its
   abundant storage and advanced interface, Gmail competes mainly with AIM
   Mail, Windows Live Mail (previously known as MSN Hotmail), and Yahoo!
   Mail.

   Released on April 1, 2004, Gmail rapidly reached a wide range of users,
   quickly evolving in response to feedback. After more than two and a
   half years, Gmail is officially still in beta.

   Access to the service is limited to those who have an invitation from
   an existing account holder, from Blogger, or through their mobile
   phone. Google has stated that the invitation system is intended to
   reduce the amount of abuse, as spammers are unable to make a large
   number of accounts, something which they can do with other services
   like Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail, whose registration is completely open.

   Google has made accounts available, without an invitation or Google
   SMS, to anyone in Australia and New Zealand since August 9, 2006 and
   Japan since August 23, 2006.

Overview

   While Gmail is not entirely open to the general public yet, most Gmail
   users have many invites to spare, as Google gives users anything from 0
   to 100 free invitations (and frequently replenishes them, as a reward
   for users who frequently check their Gmail accounts ). It is possible
   for someone in Australia, New Zealand or Japan to sign up without an
   invitation. Someone can also sign up if one has a mobile phone from
   Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Philippines, or the
   United States via SMS Signup or a .edu e-mail address from an
   accredited U.S. institution. One can find free Gmail invites at various
   Web sites, or even for sale at online auctions, despite Google's
   prohibition of selling of Gmail addresses.

   The service is notable for providing over 2.78 gigabytes ( as of
   November 2006) of storage space, increased from the original limit of 1
   GB. This change was announced on April 1, 2005, and was made for the
   one-year anniversary of Gmail. The announcement was accompanied by a
   statement that Google would "keep giving people more space forever".
   All Google will say about this now is that it will keep increasing by
   the second as long as they have enough space on their servers. Although
   Gmail's storage space continuously goes up, Google is only increasing
   the inbox capacity by a nominal four bytes per second (as of 27 October
   2006). The growth rate was faster when the announcement was first made.
   If the present growth rate continues unchanged, storage capacity will
   reach 3 gigabytes by the middle of 2009.

   Gmail also has an integrated calendar named " Google Calendar" that was
   launched on April 12, 2006.

   Gmail makes intensive use of Ajax (specifically, the AjaXSLT
   framework), employing modern browser features such as JavaScript and
   keyboard access keys, allowing for a rich user experience, while
   retaining the benefits of a web application. Most importantly, the
   service is available on any computer with a supported browser: Internet
   Explorer 5.5+, Mozilla Application Suite 1.4+, Firefox 0.8+, Safari
   1.2.1+, , Netscape 7.1+, Opera 9+. Gmail also offers "Basic HTML view"
   to allow users to access the Gmail messages from almost any computer
   running browsers that do not fully support the more advanced features,
   such as Internet Explorer 4.0+, Netscape 4.07+ or Opera 6.03+, or users
   with JavaScript disabled. Gmail's Help Centre provides a list of fully
   supported browsers. Gmail has recently also become available as a
   downloadable application for mobile phones as well as WAP-enabled
   mobile phones. It also works on the PSP and Nintendo DS Opera Browser
   web browsers, but is not fully supported.

   There has been some criticism of Gmail's information and privacy
   policies. Much of it stems from phrases in Gmail's Privacy Policy which
   state that Gmail will keep all e-mail for "some time" even if it has
   been deleted or the account terminated and that Gmail will disclose
   personal information (including the actual text of e-mails) if it has a
   "good faith belief" that such a disclosure is necessary for various
   reasons such to "protect the rights, property or safety of ... the
   public". Similarly, some privacy advocates criticize the lack of
   disclosed data retention and correlation policies. More than 30 privacy
   and civil rights organizations have urged Google to suspend the Gmail
   service until these issues are resolved.

Features

Conversation views

   A major innovation Gmail introduced was its method of categorizing
   e-mails, which Google calls Conversation View. In contrast to other
   e-mail services, Gmail keeps track of individual "conversations" (an
   original message, along with all the replies to that message) by
   grouping them together. This allows users to easily view all the
   e-mails related to a specific message, and it keeps the inbox more
   organized. Gmail's algorithm for determining how conversations fit
   together is not perfect, however: Single conversations sometimes become
   fragmented (especially when a replier changes the e-mail's subject
   line) and unrelated conversations occasionally become attached
   together. Also, if a conversation has more than approximately 100
   messages, it splits into two separate storage sections, sometimes
   resulting in 5 or 6 chunks making up a whole conversation.

Labels instead of folders

   Gmail allows users to categorize their e-mails with "labels." Labels
   give users a flexible method of categorizing e-mails, since an e-mail
   may have any number of labels (in contrast to a system in which an
   e-mail may belong to only one folder). Users can display all e-mails
   having a particular label and can use labels as a search criterion.
   Gmail also allows users to set up filters which label incoming e-mail
   automatically.

Auto save enhancement

   Google has added an Auto Save feature to Gmail, a system for avoiding
   loss of data in case of a browser crash or other error. When composing
   an e-mail, a draft copy of the message and any attachments are saved
   automatically. Although messages begin to be saved once a minute,
   saving times vary depending on the size of the message.

Keyboard shortcuts

   Gmail allows users to navigate its interface by using the keyboard as
   an accessible alternative to the mouse, which is the norm for site
   navigation. This feature is not enabled by default, although
   instructions on how to enable it are provided.

Optional dots

   Gmail usernames must be between 6 and 30 characters (inclusive) and
   made up of only letters, numbers, and dots. The use of dots, however,
   are optional (that is, Gmail ignores dots when resolving addresses).
   Google states that "Gmail doesn't recognize dots (.) as characters
   within a username. This way, you can add and remove dots to your
   username for desired address variations." For instance, the account
   google@gmail.com receives mail sent to goo.gle@gmail.com,
   g.o.o.g.l.e@gmail.com, etc. Likewise, the account goo.gle@gmail.com
   receives mail sent to google@gmail.com. This can be useful in setting
   filters for incoming mail. However, when signing in it is necessary to
   include any dots used in the creation of the account.

Plus-addressing

   Gmail also supports "plus-addressing" of e-mails. Messages can be sent
   to addresses in the form: username+extratext@gmail.com where extratext
   can be any string. Plus-addressing allows users to sign up for
   different services with different aliases and then easily filter all
   e-mails from those services. However, a significant number of services
   do not support email addresses containing plus signs.

Talk integration

   Gmail's "Talk" features allow users to chat with other people who are
   online that have a Gmail account. It interacts with the Jabber network,
   so it can be synchronised with Google Talk, and other Jabber clients
   (including Gizmo Project, Psi, Miranda IM and iChat). However, only
   text-based chat can take place within Internet Browsers, with a limit
   to four chats at once. Voice calling is therefore one of Google Talk's
   advantages.

   Added in late 2006 was the voicemail feature, which allows users to
   leave a voice message for contacts who are not online. The voicemail
   system is also reached if a user does not answer a call. Gmail keeps an
   index of voicemails received on Gmail itself, because this feature is
   accessible to users who have opted not to install Google Talk. Another
   feature added at the same time was the ability to make calls from the
   Gmail page itself. However, this only works if you have Google Talk
   downloaded and are placing a call from the webpage instead of the
   Google Talk software.

   Gmail Chat also allows the user to keep an archive of chats in their
   Gmail account - although this is disabled if either user in a
   conversation objects (called 'off the record mode' by Google). However,
   'off the record' mode does not guarantee anonymity, since the other
   user could be using a third-party client with its own logging ability
   such as Gaim. The other user could also copy and paste the conversation
   into a text editor and save it.

   Gmail also recently introduced contact pictures and introduced sound
   into Gmail Chat, so users receive auditory notifications when receiving
   an instant message through Gmail Chat.

   Gmail offers a "standard without chat" view. This is the regular
   standard view without the chat functionality. Opera 8+ supports
   "standard without chat" view, although it does not support "standard"
   view - unless Opera is set to mask itself as Internet Explorer.

   Because of the move away from e-mail, and therefore the name "Gmail",
   Google has changed the logo for Gmail, so that it includes '+ talk'.
   The logo also has a glossier finish compared to its predecessor.

Calendar integration

   On April 13, 2006, Google rolled out Google Calendar. It allows users
   to create multiple calendars, which hold appointments, and can be
   shared with other users through private addresses, or completely public
   on the web.

   It is fully integrated with Gmail, as events can be added whilst
   writing a message, that get stored on the main Calendar interface.
   Recipients who use Gmail will then receive an invitation to the event,
   which they can accept or decline. Furthermore, Gmail attempts to
   recognise event dates and locations within e-mails, and gives users the
   option to add the event to a calendar.

Awards

   Gmail was ranked second in PC World's "The 100 Best Products of 2005",
   behind Mozilla Firefox. Gmail also won 'Honorable Mention' in the
   Bottom Line Design Awards 2005. Gmail has drawn many favorable reviews
   from users because of its available space and unique organization..

Criticisms

Absent features

   The conversation view groups related messages in a linear stack that
   can be expanded and collapsed. While innovative, it offers no option to
   differentiate messages that branch off from the original thread. This
   can occur when mail is sent to multiple recipients who respond
   individually, or when someone changes the subject line of a message he
   or she is responding to.

   Some features present in several desktop e-mail applications but
   missing in Gmail are: sorting, "attachment warning," and automatic
   bounce-back of unwanted mail (imitating a mail-daemon message). Some of
   these absent features are offered by other webmail applications,
   sometimes for a price. Also, the lack of IMAP support is the most
   common complaint according to Most wanted Gmail features.

Non-US interfaces

   Because Google is located primarily in the United States, non-US
   interfaces may experience a delay in receiving upgrades and features.
   Google Calendar is not available through all non-US Gmail interfaces.
   However, if non-US users change their language to English (US) they can
   access these services. Support for entering bi-directional text is
   currently available only in the Arabic and Hebrew interfaces.

Privacy

   There has been criticism regarding Gmail's privacy policy. Many
   believed that the clause "residual copies of e-mail may remain on our
   systems for some time, even after you have deleted messages from your
   mailbox or after the termination of your account" meant that Google may
   intentionally archive copies of deleted mail forever. Google continues
   to reply to this criticism by pointing out that Gmail is using mostly
   industry-wide practices. Google later stated that they will "make
   reasonable efforts to remove deleted information from our systems as
   quickly as is practical."

   Most of the criticism, however, was against Google's plans to add
   context-sensitive advertisements to e-mails by automatically scanning
   them. Privacy advocates raised concerns that the plan involved scanning
   their personal, assumed private, e-mails, and that this was a security
   problem. Allowing e-mail content to be read, even by a computer, for
   advertising purposes, raises the risk that the expectation of privacy
   in e-mail will be reduced. Furthermore, non-subscribers' e-mail is
   scanned by Gmail as well, and these senders of e-mail did not agree to
   Gmail's terms of service or privacy policy. Also taken into account is
   the fact that Google can change its privacy policy unilaterally, and
   that Google is technically able to cross-reference cookies across its
   information-rich product line to make dossiers on individuals. However,
   again the practice is standard across all email systems—it is the only
   way spam mail checkers can work.

   Opponents of these views state that when one's e-mail is checked to see
   if it is spam, it is being scanned by the same process. Because a human
   is not reading the message, they say, it is not a problem.

   What privacy advocates also consider another problem is the lack of
   disclosed data retention and correlation policies. It is possible for
   Google to combine information contained in a person's emails with
   information about their Internet searches. It is not known how long
   such information would be kept, and how it could be used. One of the
   concerns is that it could be of interest to law enforcement agencies.
   More than 30 privacy and civil rights organizations have urged Google
   to suspend Gmail service until these issues are resolved.

Development history

   Gmail was a project begun by Google developer Paul Buchheit years
   before it was ever announced to the public. For several years, the
   software was only available internally, as an email client for Google
   employees.

   Gmail was finally announced to the public in 2004 amid a flurry of
   rumor. Owing to April Fool's Day, however, the company's press release
   was greeted with skepticism in the technology world, especially since
   Google already had been known to make April Fool's Jokes (such as
   PigeonRank). However, they explained that their real joke had been a
   press release saying that they would take offshoring to the extreme by
   putting employees in a " Google Copernicus Centre" on the Moon.
   Jonathan Rosenberg, Google's vice-president of products, was quoted by
   BBC News as saying, "We are very serious about Gmail."

   Gmail also initially received a lot of criticism for a statement they
   made in their original terms of use, refusing to guarantee that all
   e-mails at Gmail would be deleted upon request by the user. Google
   later clarified that they were referring to backup copies of e-mails,
   and promised that all deleted mails would eventually be expunged
   completely from their servers. This, along with the feature that
   advertisements would be generated by software-based scanning of e-mails
   in order to better target them, gave rise to a controversy on web
   privacy (see BBC News Article; for a defense see " The Fuss About Gmail
   and Privacy: Nine Reasons Why It's Bogus").

   Before being acquired by Google, the gmail.com domain name was used by
   the free e-mail service offered by Garfield.com, online home of the
   comic strip Garfield. This free e-mail service has moved to
   e-garfield.com.

   As of June 22, 2005, Gmail's canonical URI has been changed to
   http://mail.google.com/mail/ instead of http://gmail.google.com/gmail/.

   On November 2, 2006, Google began offering a mobile-application based
   version of its Gmail product for mobile phones capable of running Java
   applications . Those interested in using the application can download
   it from gmail.com/app directly from their mobile phone. In addition,
   Sprint announced separately that it would make the application
   available from its Vision and Power Vision homepages and which will be
   preloaded onto some new Sprint phones. The application gives Gmail its
   own custom menu system, which is much easier to navigate than a
   Web-based application would be on a cell phone. Gmail's message
   threading also shows up clearly, and the site displays attachments
   (like photos, Word documents) in the application.

Gmail for your domain

   On February 10, 2006, Google introduced Gmail for your domain. This
   service, currently in beta testing, allows organizations to offer
   e-mail services through Gmail using their own domain. Google may
   eventually open the service to all domain owners, as Microsoft has with
   its Windows Live Custom Domains service.

Google Mail

     * On July 4, 2005, Google announced that Gmail Deutschland would be
       rebranded Google Mail. From that point forward, visitors
       originating from an IP address determined to be in Germany would be
       forwarded to googlemail.com where they could obtain an email
       address containing the new domain. Any German user who wants a
       gmail.com address must sign up for an account through a proxy.
       German users who were already registered were allowed to keep their
       old addresses.
     * On October 19, 2005, the United Kingdom version of Gmail was
       converted to Google Mail, because "Gmail" is trademarked by another
       company in the UK. However, this can be bypassed by using a proxy.
       Users who registered before the switch to Googlemail face no
       problems whatsoever - they keep their Gmail address (although the
       logo in the top-left of the page appears as 'Google Mail').
     * Even if the user is signed up with Google Mail, email sent to the
       @gmail.com version of your email address will still be received.
       This is also the same for the other way around.

Competition

   After Gmail's initial announcement and development, many existing web
   mail services quickly increased their storage capacity. For example,
   Hotmail went from giving some users 2MB to 25MB (250MB after 30 days,
   and 2 GB for Hotmail Plus accounts), while Yahoo! Mail went from 4MB to
   100MB (and 2 GB for Yahoo! Mail Plus accounts). Yahoo! Mail storage
   then proceeded to 250MB, and finally, in late April of 2005, to 1GB.
   These were all seen as moves to stop existing users from switching to
   Gmail, and to capitalize on the newly rekindled public interest in web
   mail services. The desire to catch up was especially visible for MSN
   Hotmail, which upgraded its e-mail storage erratically from 250 MB to
   the new Windows Live Mail (beta) which includes 2 GB of storage over a
   number of months. In August of 2005, AOL started providing all AIM
   screen names with their own e-mail accounts with 2 GB of storage.
   Another example of competition came from 30Gigs who were offering 30
   gigabytes of storage, and was also invite only, but now offers free
   accounts for anyone.

   Every account which is inactive for 6 months is labeled dormant, and 3
   months later (a total of 9 months), gets deactivated by Gmail. All
   stored messages get deleted and the account gets "recycled", which
   means the account name can be used by any other users afterwards. Other
   webmail services, like Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail, have different, often
   shorter, times for marking an account as inactive. Yahoo! Mail
   deactivates dormant accounts after four months, while Hotmail
   deactivates free accounts after only one month.

   Other than the general increase of storage limit, there has also been
   an improvement of the e-mail interfaces of Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail
   after the launch of Gmail. Gmail's ability to have an attachment size
   of 10MB was also matched by Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail during 2005.
   Following the footsteps of Gmail, Yahoo! launched the Yahoo! Mail Beta
   service and Microsoft launched Windows Live Mail, both now
   incorporating Ajax interfaces.

Help in Gmail

   When users first sign up for Gmail, they are prompted to take the Gmail
   Tour which teaches them the basic features and what makes Gmail
   different. There is also a help page teaching new Gmail users how to
   import their contacts from their previous webmail account using CSV.
   However, it only offers personalized help for Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail;
   it has also been reported that recently-created Gmail accounts will
   receive a welcome e-mail with the link to the switching guide. Clicking
   "Help" at the top right hand corner of Gmail takes a user to the Gmail
   Help Centre. If the Gmail Help Centre does not answer a question, a
   user can contact Gmail. Alternatively, a user can also ask other users
   for help on Gmail Help Discussion, a Google Group for users to give and
   receive help concerning Gmail.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gmail"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
