NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] More on Microsoft's "Lose Mail" Feature - and How Google Handled the Issue Correctly
More on Microsoft's "Lose Mail" Feature -
and How Google Handled the Issue Correctly
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000596.html
Greetings. I'd like to clarify one aspect of my "Oops! - Microsoft's
New Feature Guaranteed to Lose Important E-Mail" posting from earlier
this morning ( http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000595.html ).
One reader quickly noted that Google has what he asserted was a
similar capability to Microsoft's upcoming "Ignore" function in
Outlook -- the Gmail "Mute" feature.
However, this is a perfect example of how the devil is in the details,
and how Microsoft apparently got this functionality wrong, and Google
got it right.
In contrast to the reported behavior of the MS "Ignore" command, which
deletes current and future messages (relegating them to Trash and
eventual automatic oblivion), Gmail's "Mute" command simply moves
targeted messages to Archival, from where they can be easily retrieved
at any time.
But here comes the real zinger of a comparison. The MS Ignore feature
reportedly specifically targets messages in which the recipient is
listed as a CC. But the Gmail Ignore function (as I understand it)
uses the presence of the recipient on the To: or CC: line as an
indication that this might be an important message, and triggers the
recovery of the associated e-mail thread from Archival, presenting it
high up in the current Inbox.
In other words, key aspects of these functions appear to be 180
degrees apart in the Microsoft Outlook vs. Gmail versions, with MS
taking a path that maximizes the risk of confusion and missing
relevant messages, while Google chose the route that minimizes these
risks.
Case closed?
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
- People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
- Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, GCTIP - Global Coalition
for Transparent Internet Performance - http://www.gctip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein