# Anyone not want a gmail account?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 3, 2004, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886 "2004-09-03T01:48:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/1 "2004-09-03T01:48:35Z")
I think we are now past the point where it is cool, even by geek standards, to have a Gmail account. It’s actually cooler to not have one.
I have six Gmail invites available, because I have no friends. Email me if you don’t want one. First six people not to email me get an account whether they like it or not.
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/2 "2004-09-03T01:51:03Z")
Gmail? Pffffffft. I fart in its general direction. I’m perfectly capable of storing messages on _gasp_ my own hard drive.
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### Author:  [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/3 "2004-09-03T01:55:08Z")
SOLD! [gorillaman@gmail.com](mailto:gorillaman@gmail.com) it is. Five left, they’re going fast.
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### Author:  [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/4 "2004-09-03T01:56:04Z")
What’s the big deal about gmail? :dubious:
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### Author:  [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/5 "2004-09-03T01:58:31Z")
I don’t understand the hoopla. I can store all the messages, attachments, spam, glurge, and other BS I want on my own hard drive. And it won’t include “targeted advertisements.”
**Usram** , you may put me down for not wanting one of your Gmail invites.
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### Author:  [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/6 "2004-09-03T01:58:37Z")
Four left.
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/7 "2004-09-03T02:04:14Z")
Goddammit, I didn’t read the end of the OP…guess that makes it my own fault…
but seen as I am replying again, can I point out that the well-known frequent poster **UsramisabigGirlyManaccordingtoArnie** has thorougly denounced Gmail at every opportunity
😉
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### Author:  [@JayElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JayElle)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/8 "2004-09-03T02:08:35Z")
i don’t understand the appeal, either. I have four email accounts that I can barely keep up with. Seriously, what is the allure? Anyone?
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### Author:  [@JayElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JayElle)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/9 "2004-09-03T02:10:51Z")
And, **Usram** , I tried to email you, but the thingy said you didn’t accept emails. I really don’t wnat an gmail account.
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### Author:  [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/10 "2004-09-03T02:10:52Z")
I can barely keep up! [JayElle@gmail.com](mailto:JayElle@gmail.com), welcome to the community. Only three left now, folks.
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### Author:  [@JayElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JayElle)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/11 "2004-09-03T02:12:05Z")
Gah!
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### Author:  [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/12 "2004-09-03T02:13:14Z")
Sorry, didn’t see that last post, **JayElle**. I’ve had a word with the Gmail people and they’ve revoked your membership.
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### Author:  [@JayElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JayElle)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/13 "2004-09-03T02:13:47Z")
Thank you!
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### Author:  [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/14 "2004-09-03T03:51:13Z")
When I first heard about gmail, I was interested. It was probably the exclusive nature of it – only special people have a gmail account.
But now, it seems that every man and his dog has a gmail account. There seems to be little point in trying to get one now. I might as well wait until they open it to the public.
I will be very unhappy if I get a gmail account.
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### Author:  [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/15 "2004-09-03T04:03:38Z")
Could I please not have one?
I also have a crappy ICQ number. It’s low enough to show I have no life, but not low enough to be geekily cool, and it’s not high enough to show I am really cool because I don’t care about stuff like that.
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### Author:  [@SuperNova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNova)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/16 "2004-09-03T04:09:20Z")
Gmail… bah…
The accounts aren’t at all “exclusive” anymore. The invitation system seems like a marketing ploy for people to get their friends accounts. How many people would have signed up for an account if someone didn’t offer them an invitation, honestly?
That said, their plan is working. But the idea of all the new members still being beta testers (or something) is just bull.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/17 "2004-09-03T04:15:19Z")
Can I have a gmail account because I need another e-mail address so that I can send out the mass mailings that I have been thinking of to make myself rich? I have already entered several people in this thread as great prospects and would really like to take it to the next level.
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### Author:  [@The\_Untouchable\_Urma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Untouchable_Urma)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/18 "2004-09-03T04:52:48Z")
I understand where you gmail-knockers are coming from. You got your shiny new gmail account, you excitedly unwrapped it, and… bleh. Completely unexceptional. It looks like any other webmail service. And now that Yahoo and MSN are giving (or promising) comparable storage sizes, and now that gmail owners are no longer an exclusive group, there’s just nothing exciting about it.
Right? Am I right? Yes, I’m right.
But you’re all cheating gmail out of a fair chance to prove itself. Most of the greatest parts about gmail involve the way it lets you organize and easily manage your mail, even when you’ve got a ton of it. The conversation view of emails is fantastic! It’s incredibly useful that I can see exactly what a mysterious reply I’ve gotten is referring to without having to hunt through my trash, assuming I haven’t already deleted the original message. Lightning fast search, with lots of criteria on what you can search on. A clever labeling system that replaces traditional folders. Oh, yeah, and a gigabyte to store that ton of email in.
These are all features that you wouldn’t have found useful, if you tried them at all, when you’ve just used your account for five emails total to just test the new account out. When you’ve got five emails, you don’t need any help organizing. But when real life enters, and you get thirty new emails a day - that’s where gmail’s true genius shows.
Until I started using gmail, I hadn’t realized how limiting everything else I’d ever used was. I absolutely love gmail, and I could never go back to using anything else.
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### Author:  [@EhhMon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EhhMon)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/19 "2004-09-03T05:22:22Z")
I hate gmail. Absolutely hate it. If anyone ever gives me a gmail account I will totally barf all my intestines out.
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### Author:  [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2004, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-not-want-a-gmail-account/262886/20 "2004-09-03T06:12:01Z")
> [@The Untouchable Urma](#):
>
> I understand where you gmail-knockers are coming from. You got your shiny new gmail account, you excitedly unwrapped it, and… bleh. Completely unexceptional. It looks like any other webmail service. And now that Yahoo and MSN are giving (or promising) comparable storage sizes, and now that gmail owners are no longer an exclusive group, there’s just nothing exciting about it.
> Right? Am I right? Yes, I’m right.
>
> But you’re all cheating gmail out of a fair chance to prove itself. Most of the greatest parts about gmail involve the way it lets you organize and easily manage your mail, even when you’ve got a ton of it. The conversation view of emails is fantastic! It’s incredibly useful that I can see exactly what a mysterious reply I’ve gotten is referring to without having to hunt through my trash, assuming I haven’t already deleted the original message. Lightning fast search, with lots of criteria on what you can search on. A clever labeling system that replaces traditional folders. Oh, yeah, and a gigabyte to store that ton of email in.
>
> These are all features that you wouldn’t have found useful, if you tried them at all, when you’ve just used your account for five emails total to just test the new account out. When you’ve got five emails, you don’t need any help organizing. But when real life enters, and you get thirty new emails a day - that’s where gmail’s true genius shows.
>
> Until I started using gmail, I hadn’t realized how limiting everything else I’d ever used was. I absolutely love gmail, and I could never go back to using anything else.
Pfft… **Usram** will never give you an invite with _that_ attitude!!
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