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I really hope I'm not using Gmail in 15 years. Gmail as a product has gotten progressively worse over the years. Google as a company has gotten progressively wo

I really hope I'm not using Gmail in 15 years. Gmail as a product has gotten progressively worse over the years. Google as a company has gotten progressively worse over the years. They make the worst product decisions of all the large tech companies (seriously, how many chat platforms will they create and kill in those 15 years). I use Fastmail for somethings but sadly it's not quite as good as Gmail (and not as bad in many ways). Anyone care to wager what an idealized email platform will look like in 15 years?

52-6F-62 8y ago
> Anyone care to wage what an idealized email platform will look like in 15 years? Now this is a good question. I've wondered (half-assedly) myself recently. I've been on the gmail hook since 2005 (I remember getting approved for the Beta and how in awe I was of having a whole GB of online storage). I've grown so accustomed to the use of gmail that I have a hard time distinguishing what it is that really holds me there. One item is ubiquity. Everyone knows it now so there's no ambiguity about the address as long as one knows the name I use. That's not a huge detail, but one minor feature I find I don't have to think about. Outside of that I think the main deterrent to changing is the migration process. It sucks. I'm hesitant to move from one external provider to another as my faith in the longevity of other services has waned over the years. That said I'm also hesitant to run my own node because of the maintenance and security concerns. I'm not abreast to any innovations in the space, however. I'd also love to hear from others who might have a lot more experience and knowledge in the area.
- ocdtrekkie 8y ago
  One of the things I do miss about Gmail is how a lot of restaurant receipt systems and the like have an "@gmail.com" button, but I have to type my full email address out every time, it's definitely a longer process to read over the phone too. I recommend even if you are not ready to migrate away from Gmail though, to hedge your bets and make the migration process easier eventually. Get an email address at your own domain name, and forward it straight to your Gmail. Over time, adjust all your accounts and contacts to send to your new, forwarded address. Then if it any time, you need to move providers, all you have to do is change where your address is forwarded to (and of course, use IMAP to drag all your old emails from Gmail to the new service). I spent about a year and a half using Gmail, but migrating things over to my own email address. Make it a lot easier when the time came.
  - 52-6F-62 8y ago
    That's pretty good advice. I have, in the past, maintained my own email address but found I often gave up after a while—mainly due to saturation of my existing address. But with a bit of dedication it does sound like your advice would at least be a helpful stop-gap for the future. Thanks.
    - ocdtrekkie 8y ago
      The big thing with this strategy is that all your mail continues to go to the same place. You're just updating accounts when you log into them, and see "oh, that's still using my Gmail address". But it doesn't add a lot of stress or multiple places to check your email.
- bluedino 8y ago
  Is there some sort of standard for downloading all your mail? Outlook has a PST file, I suppose you could sync a Windows PC to Gmail and then move it up to some other service, or keep the PST file around (as easily corrupted as they are) with the original stored a few other places.
- criddell 8y ago
  How I use email has changed significantly in the past 15 years. These days my personal inbox is almost entirely filled with mail from companies and newsletters that I rarely read. The quality is so low that I probably only check my email a few times a month. If the trends continue, in 2035 I'll be checking my email a few times a year.
ravenstine 8y ago
I switched to ProtonMail and, while I do think it leaves something to be desired for a lot of people, I'm a minimalist and it works great for my needs. Unfortunately, every company I've ever worked for has required the use of Gmail and other G-suite tools at one point or another. I really hate that I can never seem to get away from it.
dmortin 8y ago
I want an email provider which I can access from any platform and which provides customizable hotkeys. I control gmail from the keyboard only (using single key hotkeys) and wouldn't use an email service which forces me to use the mouse in the browser when I'm sitting at a keyboard.

52-6F-62 8y ago

> Anyone care to wage what an idealized email platform will look like in 15 years? Now this is a good question. I've wondered (half-assedly) myself recently. I've been on the gmail hook since 2005 (I remember getting approved for the Beta and how in awe I was of having a whole GB of online storage). I've grown so accustomed to the use of gmail that I have a hard time distinguishing what it is that really holds me there. One item is ubiquity. Everyone knows it now so there's no ambiguity about the address as long as one knows the name I use. That's not a huge detail, but one minor feature I find I don't have to think about. Outside of that I think the main deterrent to changing is the migration process. It sucks. I'm hesitant to move from one external provider to another as my faith in the longevity of other services has waned over the years. That said I'm also hesitant to run my own node because of the maintenance and security concerns. I'm not abreast to any innovations in the space, however. I'd also love to hear from others who might have a lot more experience and knowledge in the area.

ocdtrekkie 8y ago
One of the things I do miss about Gmail is how a lot of restaurant receipt systems and the like have an "@gmail.com" button, but I have to type my full email address out every time, it's definitely a longer process to read over the phone too. I recommend even if you are not ready to migrate away from Gmail though, to hedge your bets and make the migration process easier eventually. Get an email address at your own domain name, and forward it straight to your Gmail. Over time, adjust all your accounts and contacts to send to your new, forwarded address. Then if it any time, you need to move providers, all you have to do is change where your address is forwarded to (and of course, use IMAP to drag all your old emails from Gmail to the new service). I spent about a year and a half using Gmail, but migrating things over to my own email address. Make it a lot easier when the time came.
- 52-6F-62 8y ago
  That's pretty good advice. I have, in the past, maintained my own email address but found I often gave up after a while—mainly due to saturation of my existing address. But with a bit of dedication it does sound like your advice would at least be a helpful stop-gap for the future. Thanks.
  - ocdtrekkie 8y ago
    The big thing with this strategy is that all your mail continues to go to the same place. You're just updating accounts when you log into them, and see "oh, that's still using my Gmail address". But it doesn't add a lot of stress or multiple places to check your email.
bluedino 8y ago
Is there some sort of standard for downloading all your mail? Outlook has a PST file, I suppose you could sync a Windows PC to Gmail and then move it up to some other service, or keep the PST file around (as easily corrupted as they are) with the original stored a few other places.
criddell 8y ago
How I use email has changed significantly in the past 15 years. These days my personal inbox is almost entirely filled with mail from companies and newsletters that I rarely read. The quality is so low that I probably only check my email a few times a month. If the trends continue, in 2035 I'll be checking my email a few times a year.

ravenstine 8y ago

I switched to ProtonMail and, while I do think it leaves something to be desired for a lot of people, I'm a minimalist and it works great for my needs. Unfortunately, every company I've ever worked for has required the use of Gmail and other G-suite tools at one point or another. I really hate that I can never seem to get away from it.

dmortin 8y ago

I want an email provider which I can access from any platform and which provides customizable hotkeys. I control gmail from the keyboard only (using single key hotkeys) and wouldn't use an email service which forces me to use the mouse in the browser when I'm sitting at a keyboard.