I really dislike Gmail's icon-only display in the GMail interface (I've changed the appearance to text labels only.) I also dislike the way they hide common fu

I really dislike Gmail's icon-only display in the GMail interface (I've changed the appearance to text labels only.) I also dislike the way they hide common functions (like delete) until you've selected an item. I can understand their reasoning: they probably thought it would make for a clutter-free interface. It took me a while to get used to the 'select-email-then-make-command-visible' pattern. I still find this very unnatural. It is common in some desktop applications and it works because you might be manipulating the properties of an object in some way. But for an email interface, it's overkill and the wrong pattern (in my opinion). Delete is a such a common email function it should be visible at all times. Most people know they have to select a message before they can delete it, but I found I was looking first to see that the command was available before I made any selection. Also, I note on the "more" button in GMail, they have a hint that says "select messages to see more actions" which might suggest that other people are hunting for commands not visible in the interface? (Finally, I can't help but make one more observation - the way that the Gmail compose email box appears in the lower right corner of the browser window - I just find this bizarre and not helpful)