Really short answer: Because the GUIs for mail SW are just not that great. It's been a long time since I used something like Thunderbird, but for the webmails I

Really short answer: Because the GUIs for mail SW are just not that great. It's been a long time since I used something like Thunderbird, but for the webmails I use, as well as Outlook at work - both tend to have inferior UIs than a good TUI.[1] Another short answer: A lot of people prefer to use the keyboard. While it's true you can do a lot of keyboard navigation in some GUIs, but they still tend to be inferior to what you can do in a GUI. Another answer: Performance. GUIs in general are laggy. Another answer: What are my choices for GUIs for local mail? I always store mail locally on my PC and use a mail SW to interact with them. Fundamentally, GUI developers optimize for different things compared to TUI developers. Finally: > but why would you want to use a terminal interface when a GUI is so much easier? I think you'll find that the HN crowd values a few things higher than "ease". Yes, GUIs tend to be easier. Just like using IFTT is easier than writing code. Yet, many people prefer to write code. [1] I mean OK, perhaps for a thing or two they're better, but not overall.