# gmail wtf? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 27, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031 "2013-06-27T14:07:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031/1 "2013-06-27T14:07:19Z")
This is a really small thing but I find it inordinately aggravating. In gmail, if an email goes past five lines or so, you have to push a little “ellipses” button to read the rest. That’s fine. But the button _stays there_ when you push it, creating a blank line where none exists in the actual email. I know it’s just an email, but when I’m writing I can’t help but think about how the thing looks on the page, and this little button breaking up the text makes that very difficult. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031/2 "2013-06-27T14:37:57Z")
I just checked, and I definitely don’t get this. Isn’t it just a funny setting you have? ---
**Author:** ![Virgil\_Tibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Virgil\_Tibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virgil_Tibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031/3 "2013-06-27T15:12:11Z")
What annoys me about Gmail is that it deletes all the emails in a conversation instead of just the one selected. Gmail’s actually a bit shit. I find even Outlook easier to use. Oh, and I’ve also experienced the ellipsis thing. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031/4 "2013-06-27T16:26:25Z")
Er, you can delete just one email. In the top right drop down menu with Forward, Print, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031/5 "2013-06-27T16:41:00Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Er, you can delete just one email. In the top right drop down menu with Forward, Print, etc. Yes, and that’s a stupid way to do it, I want to delete the one, not all of them. Plus I don’t think I have the option on my phone. I get the ellipse thing too. There are a few reasons I haven’t switched to gmail for everything, those are just some of them. Then again yahoo just started making the emails scroll when looking at the inbox instead of doing it by pages. I hate it. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031/6 "2013-06-27T17:55:01Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > I just checked, and I definitely don’t get this. Isn’t it just a funny setting you have? Me either ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031/7 "2013-06-27T20:07:34Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Me either +2 Perhaps you have a different version (I have 4.5) or your provider installs different defaults (I have a Galaxy through Sprint). ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031/8 "2013-06-27T20:47:10Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > In gmail, if an email goes past five lines or so, you have to push a little “ellipses” button to read the rest. Does this typically only happen with emails from particular people? Because gmail puts in that “click for more” button at the end of the new portion of an email, but before the replied-to portion of the text. I’m guessing those particular people are either cutting and pasting previous text to reply to in the main body of the email, composing their reply below the replied-to text, or some other similarly formatting-screwing idiosynchracy. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031/9 "2013-06-27T20:49:24Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Yes, and that’s a stupid way to do it, I want to delete the one, not all of them. Plus I don’t think I have the option on my phone. What sort of phone do you have? On an iPhone, you need to go into the conversation (conversation = group of e-mails with the same subject) and delete individual emails. If you delete the conversation, they all go away. Just like deleting a computer folder deletes everything inside of it. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031/10 "2013-06-27T20:52:31Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > This is a really small thing but I find it inordinately aggravating. In gmail, if an email goes past five lines or so, you have to push a little “ellipses” button to read the rest. That’s fine. But the button _stays there_ when you push it, creating a blank line where none exists in the actual email. I know it’s just an email, but when I’m writing I can’t help but think about how the thing looks on the page, and this little button breaking up the text makes that very difficult. Where are you reading Gmail, on a PC, smartphone, tablet, or something else? What operating system? If you’re on a smartphone or tablet, are you using the Gmail app or web browser? What browser and version? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gmail-wtf/662031/11 "2013-06-27T22:06:48Z")
The ellipsis stays there so that you can shrink the text again if necessary. I like it, since I can quickly see if there’s anything interesting hidden, and if not I can just hide it again without moving the mouse.