Sharing Time: Gmail Junk Quirk
Gmail isn't new. Google Voice is (and if you'd like an invitation, let me know in the comments—I have three left to give). And so are Google Buzz and Google Wave. But Gmail has been around since 2004. I'm not exactly sure when I signed up for my Gmail account, but it has been a long time since I switched over from Hotmail. Ever since the switch, I have loved Gmail. It's free. It comes with plenty of storage—enough that I never need to delete an email that I think I might need sometime in the future. It's also searchable (so I can actually find that email I've been saving for two years). There are many benefits to using Gmail.
But today I learned that Gmail isn't perfect—especially where junk mail is concerned.
One of Gmail's features that I have always liked is how sanitary it is. I rarely, if ever, receive junk mail or spam in my inbox. As it turns out, part of the reason for this is its extra-sensitive spam filters. They definitely keep all of the pharmaceutical emails out of my hair, but they also mark the occasional friend's email as junk, never to be seen, and queued for auto-deletion 30 days after arriving in the Spam folder. Here's how I discovered this flaw:
I opened my Mail application this morning and was playing around with it. I noticed I had 431 messages in my Spam folder. I clicked on it and was quickly scrolling through them. Among all of the subject line innuendoes from spammers across the globe, I glimpsed a name of an old friend in the "from" column. I thought I had just scrolled up too fast and gone past it, but it turns out that it was over 30 days old and the moment I saw it was actually the same moment it was syncing with the Gmail servers to be deleted; thrown out with the garbage, so to speak.
After some quick research, I concluded that it was lost for good, which made me sad. I would have liked to have read that email. So here's my advice: Check your Spam or Junk folder every so often for stuff that shouldn't be there. And here's my apology (and excuse): If you've ever sent me an email and thought that I was just a big jerk for not replying, I'm sorry—It's all Google's fault.
Go to the board!
But today I learned that Gmail isn't perfect—especially where junk mail is concerned.
One of Gmail's features that I have always liked is how sanitary it is. I rarely, if ever, receive junk mail or spam in my inbox. As it turns out, part of the reason for this is its extra-sensitive spam filters. They definitely keep all of the pharmaceutical emails out of my hair, but they also mark the occasional friend's email as junk, never to be seen, and queued for auto-deletion 30 days after arriving in the Spam folder. Here's how I discovered this flaw:
I opened my Mail application this morning and was playing around with it. I noticed I had 431 messages in my Spam folder. I clicked on it and was quickly scrolling through them. Among all of the subject line innuendoes from spammers across the globe, I glimpsed a name of an old friend in the "from" column. I thought I had just scrolled up too fast and gone past it, but it turns out that it was over 30 days old and the moment I saw it was actually the same moment it was syncing with the Gmail servers to be deleted; thrown out with the garbage, so to speak.
After some quick research, I concluded that it was lost for good, which made me sad. I would have liked to have read that email. So here's my advice: Check your Spam or Junk folder every so often for stuff that shouldn't be there. And here's my apology (and excuse): If you've ever sent me an email and thought that I was just a big jerk for not replying, I'm sorry—It's all Google's fault.
Go to the board!
Selfish this one, I know - I'd love one of your three available invites. :)
ReplyDeleteYou bet, Cameron. I'll send you one today.
ReplyDelete