# Anyone else using the new Yahoo! Mail Beta? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 9, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-using-the-new-yahoo-mail-beta/334944 "2005-12-09T21:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-using-the-new-yahoo-mail-beta/334944/1 "2005-12-09T21:23:50Z")
I signed up weeks ago to try it, and finally got the offer to try it today. I like it. It’s pretty much like having MS Outlook running in a web page. I haven’t composed any emails yet, but the reading/browsing functions work like I expect them to (as a long-time Outlook user). I also tried the integrated RSS feed reader, and that seems pretty good. I’ll likely stick with Bloglines though, at least for the time being, for reading RSS. I’m using Firefox 1.5 on Windows XP. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-using-the-new-yahoo-mail-beta/334944/2 "2005-12-10T16:51:30Z")
I’m the only one here who got invited to try this? Ha ha, you guys suck. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-using-the-new-yahoo-mail-beta/334944/3 "2005-12-10T18:19:00Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Ha ha, you guys suck. Yeah, because web-based Outlook clones are what everyone wants for Christmas. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-using-the-new-yahoo-mail-beta/334944/4 "2005-12-10T20:27:57Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > Yeah, because web-based Outlook clones are what everyone wants for Christmas. 😉 It might be! I hear MS is revamping their Hotmail interface too (LONG overdue, it’s one of the WORST interfaces out there for mail). Ironically, I bet it won’t be as close to Outlook as Yahoo’s new interface is. Yahoo’s is so close I wonder if MS has grounds for a “look and feel” lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2005, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-using-the-new-yahoo-mail-beta/334944/5 "2005-12-11T04:13:33Z")
I just signed up … with any luck, I’ll get an invite soon! > [@Revtim](#): > > It’s pretty much like having MS Outlook running in a web page. Does it allow sub-folders? I’d love to be able to create sub-folders… > [@](#): > > I’m the only one here who got invited to try this? Ha ha, you guys suck. More like you might be the only one who’d signed up for it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-using-the-new-yahoo-mail-beta/334944/6 "2005-12-11T04:36:20Z")
No, doesn’t appear to allow subfolders, or at least I couldn’t figure out how to make one. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-using-the-new-yahoo-mail-beta/334944/7 "2005-12-14T04:35:36Z")
Dude, no offense but I think you’ve been smoking crack: I just tried it, and it’s _nothing_ like Outlook. The only similarity I see is that they changed “addresses” to “contacts,” and took away the groups/categories (which I happened to like: now there is no easy way to see just the addresses for work, school, etc.). Oh, and they added a preview pane, which I don’t like or use even in Outlook. This is the most beta Beta that I’ve ever seen them release: the calendar and notepad open in another window, in the old GUI. And the mail options still use the old GUI (also in a new window), and require a reload of the Beta version before they take effect. And some of the settings didn’t carry over to the Beta! Mostly I’m disappointed about the lack of subfolder functionality. That seems just plain _stupid_, and has been my biggest complaint about Yahoo Mail from the start. The only thing I like about the Beta is that my other e-mail accounts are finally displayed with a name, and not just by server (for example, I have two Comcast addresses and in the old GUI they both show up as [mail.comcast.net](http://mail.comcast.net); I have to remember which color goes with which address). But the rest of it kind of sucks. I’m surprised at how much I don’t like the Beta, because I’ve been using Yahoo Mail since 1997 and I’ve always liked their betas. Neither of the changes I noted in the first paragraph are useful to me, and I see no other new functionality or justification for the change. I’m not even going to keep it for 24 hours in case it grows on me: I’m switching back to the old GUI until the new one is out of beta and they make everyone use it. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-using-the-new-yahoo-mail-beta/334944/8 "2005-12-15T14:54:16Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Dude, no offense but I think you’ve been smoking crack: I just tried it, and it’s _nothing_ like Outlook. The only similarity I see is that they changed “addresses” to “contacts,” and took away the groups/categories (which I happened to like: now there is no easy way to see just the addresses for work, school, etc.). Oh, and they added a preview pane, which I don’t like or use even in Outlook. To those who use the preview pane, they will likely agree that it’s arranged much like Outlook. At least previous versions, the latest Outlook arranges the panes differently. ---
**Author:** ![tiltypig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@tiltypig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiltypig)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-using-the-new-yahoo-mail-beta/334944/9 "2005-12-16T01:09:24Z")
I’m using it and I really like it. I use the preview pane and I like the improved speed with which my messages load, and the Outlook-like functionality of dealing with messages: for example, you can Ctrl-Select multiple messages in your inbox and drag and drop them into a folder.