June 10, 2004
There are a few disturbing facts hidden within the alarmist fearmongering at Gmail is too creepy, but I'm pretty much unfazed. I've been blown away by both Gmail's speed and the elegance of its interface, not to mention the massive storage space. I find the argument that somehow messages sent to a Gmail account have some peculiar expectation of privacy just a little bit bizarre. Aren't people aware of the dangers associated with electronic reproduction by now? I don't see how Gmail changes that picture. And anyway, do you really trust the proprietors of your hotmail or yahoomail account? Google has gotten things right on so many issues, and I trust them with my email. If you don't, there are always alternatives.
There are issues raised by the anti-Gmail folks that are substantial, but it's so easy to opt out.
If you're worried you're privacy will be compromised by Gmail, don't use it. If you receive e-mail from a Gmail address and don't want your comments ending up in a Gmail archive, simply reply with "I'm sorry, I don't feel comfortable responding to a Gmail.com address, please contact me again from an alternate address and I will be happy to correspond with you."; I'd respect that request, and others should as well.
Personally, I think Gmail's an interesting idea and am looking forward to using it.
I have not really been paying much attention to gmail besides the fact that blogger suggests I use it, but I did notice today that yahoo mail is trying to outdo itself--100 mb free space. i had to do a double take.
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