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Gmail is actively working to frustrate users into either paying or leaving the once free service in my opinion. The functionality of GMail has turned hostile to

Gmail is actively working to frustrate users into either paying or leaving the once free service in my opinion. The functionality of GMail has turned hostile towards free accounts in the past few years with constant notices of low storage (when there is still 20-15% remaining) to unnecessarily shrinking screen size of the email reading pane and insertion of ads into the UI. The configuration options are way too overcomplex for email, which has been around (without much functional advancement) for ages now. If a service starts out promising users it will be free, it should be held to that standard. To this day I don't understand why gmail and msft don't show originating email addresses (without needing to click on anything to see them) in order to reduce phishing and other mail scams, but in 2020 apparently frustrating users is much better for company profit than making and maintaining a highly useful and functional product... There are people who will say it's their product and it's free, but yes, that's what they promised to get us all to sign up to it years ago. Now that so many people use it unknowingly for IDAM, quitting it may not even be a good option, meaning that if charges are levied, it's borderline extortion by Google. I pay and sponsor Google in many other ways for using their services and product. They should have not lied if they wanted to convert Gmail from a free service into a paid service.

peddling-brink 4y ago
Are you implying that paid users of gmail, ie gsuite or whatever they rebranded to, get better spam and phishing protection? I use both, and disagree. It mostly does a great job. Occasionally the spammers figure out some new tactic to get around the spam filtering and it takes google some weeks to catch up. The ads are annoying, yes, but you still have the option to use whatever email client you want. Calling any of this borderline extortion is extreme. Turn on email forwarding and use a different provider if you hate it that much.
- ASalazarMX 4y ago
  I also use both, and I find myself diving the spam folder of my personal account more often, although this is likely because my work account receives much less spam than my personal account because I've shared it sparingly.
- winternett 4y ago
  Converting something that is promised as free, and especially after years of use into a paid service is extortion (the act, though not the crime). We're all so complacent with terrible service from everything that we keep giving passes to very profitable companies that completely don't live up to some of the most basic principles of service provision. Gmail is essential to many people now, changing accounts is like changing phone numbers... The attitude of allowing Google to simply shrug whenever they break promises, security, rules, and standards sets the bar for the entire tech industry. They should be held to a higher standard. Their search and so many other things are tied into a very profitable network of information harvesting that can easily become weaponized against us all, it didn't start out that way at all. Just the ideal of them phasing out their slogan of "Don't be evil" was a huge sign of how they pivoted from promises to preying upon people. It's not a minor flub, it's calculated and quite irresponsibly conducted profiteering.
  - peddling-brink 4y ago
    I don’t understand. What do you mean by `Converting something that is promised as free`? Gmail is still free. There are ads and upsells, but the core product does not cost money to use. > We're all so complacent with terrible service from everything that we keep giving passes to very profitable companies that completely don't live up to some of the most basic principles of service provision. If you were complaining about a service that you pay money for, I’d understand. What level of expectation can you have of a privately offered free service? Common sense says none. I pay money for my email service because I think it’s worth it. I want a level of customer service available to me if I need it.
- jfoster 4y ago
  It's no secret that free Gmail has noticeably failed to catch a lot of obvious spam recently. Seems plausible that they might be preparing for the introduction of a premium spam filter, because there's not too many other explanations for why they're failing so badly at spam filtering.

peddling-brink 4y ago

Are you implying that paid users of gmail, ie gsuite or whatever they rebranded to, get better spam and phishing protection? I use both, and disagree. It mostly does a great job. Occasionally the spammers figure out some new tactic to get around the spam filtering and it takes google some weeks to catch up. The ads are annoying, yes, but you still have the option to use whatever email client you want. Calling any of this borderline extortion is extreme. Turn on email forwarding and use a different provider if you hate it that much.

ASalazarMX 4y ago
I also use both, and I find myself diving the spam folder of my personal account more often, although this is likely because my work account receives much less spam than my personal account because I've shared it sparingly.
winternett 4y ago
Converting something that is promised as free, and especially after years of use into a paid service is extortion (the act, though not the crime). We're all so complacent with terrible service from everything that we keep giving passes to very profitable companies that completely don't live up to some of the most basic principles of service provision. Gmail is essential to many people now, changing accounts is like changing phone numbers... The attitude of allowing Google to simply shrug whenever they break promises, security, rules, and standards sets the bar for the entire tech industry. They should be held to a higher standard. Their search and so many other things are tied into a very profitable network of information harvesting that can easily become weaponized against us all, it didn't start out that way at all. Just the ideal of them phasing out their slogan of "Don't be evil" was a huge sign of how they pivoted from promises to preying upon people. It's not a minor flub, it's calculated and quite irresponsibly conducted profiteering.
- peddling-brink 4y ago
  I don’t understand. What do you mean by `Converting something that is promised as free`? Gmail is still free. There are ads and upsells, but the core product does not cost money to use. > We're all so complacent with terrible service from everything that we keep giving passes to very profitable companies that completely don't live up to some of the most basic principles of service provision. If you were complaining about a service that you pay money for, I’d understand. What level of expectation can you have of a privately offered free service? Common sense says none. I pay money for my email service because I think it’s worth it. I want a level of customer service available to me if I need it.
jfoster 4y ago
It's no secret that free Gmail has noticeably failed to catch a lot of obvious spam recently. Seems plausible that they might be preparing for the introduction of a premium spam filter, because there's not too many other explanations for why they're failing so badly at spam filtering.