# Looks like Yahoo has screwed up twice more.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [November 19, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283 "2013-11-19T19:11:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 16\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/1 "2013-11-19T19:11:22Z")

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A couple weeks ago, Yahoo under the leadership of Marissa Mayer took out a popular tabs function in email. They replaced it with some other function that is “just as good” despite customers complaining it wasn’t. Now they’ve been caught intercepting emails so that they can get personal information to tailor-make advertisements so they make more revenue.

Seems like Mayer’s business model is “Fuck the customer and we’ll make money.” Sad thing is it seems to be working.

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**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/2 "2013-11-19T20:07:28Z")

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In fairness, the “scan emails to make ads” thing is something gmail has done for years.

That’s not to say it’s right, but it’s not like they’re the only game in town doing that.

That being said, I see Marissa as the captain refusing to acknowledge her ship is sinking.

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**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/3 "2013-11-19T20:09:43Z")

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Latest home page redesign (here in the UK, anyway) sucks too.

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/4 "2013-11-19T21:11:52Z")

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> [@yellowjacketcoder](#):
>
> In fairness, the “scan emails to make ads” thing is something gmail has done for years.

Yes, but Google is up front about it while apparently Yahoo was not, if they were able to get “caught.”

Plus Google will allow you to opt out of targeted advertising. (At least, for now. No telling once Google+ integrates with Gmail.)

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**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/5 "2013-11-19T21:25:55Z")

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Adblock allows you to opt out of all advertising, so I don’t see the hullabaloo.

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**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/6 "2013-11-19T21:30:04Z")

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> [@Rachellelogram](#):
>
> Adblock allows you to opt out of all advertising, so I don’t see the hullabaloo.

Even if you are hiding the ads they are trying to show you, this doesn’t mean that they aren’t still intercepting the data they need to create the ads you block.

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**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/7 "2013-11-19T22:00:56Z")

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> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> Even if you are hiding the ads they are trying to show you, this doesn’t mean that they aren’t still intercepting the data they need to create the ads you block.

I still don’t see the issue. My mom is paranoid about the data being collected about her, but this is not (yet) a rational concern. Does anyone besides crazy conspiracy nuts really think Yahoo, Google, or the NSA cares whether you’re into cotton-scented candles or bondage domination?

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**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:** [November 19, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/8 "2013-11-19T22:09:29Z")

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Why do people care when software reads their email? Software in your browser is reading it too, so that it can displays it to you. Software is reading it every step of the way from the sender to your eyes, otherwise you would not get it to begin with.

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**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/9 "2013-11-20T02:17:56Z")

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I hate the no-tabs now. If I have to go through old mail, I open up multiple FF tabs, which is unwieldy and awkward. Every time someone opens up a Yahoo sucks thread, I have to chime in and say how much I hate it when they change things because 80% of their changes suck.

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**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/10 "2013-11-20T03:03:34Z")

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Off topic, but I hate gmail sorting my mail. I can do that myself thanks. Now I have to click three tabs to get my stuff. Ain’t nobody got time fo dat.

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**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/11 "2013-11-20T03:41:50Z")

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> [@Inna\_Minnit](#):
>
> Off topic, but I hate gmail sorting my mail. I can do that myself thanks. Now I have to click three tabs to get my stuff. Ain’t nobody got time fo dat.

Concur.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/12 "2013-11-20T04:40:25Z")

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> [@Inna\_Minnit](#):
>
> Off topic, but I hate gmail sorting my mail. I can do that myself thanks. Now I have to click three tabs to get my stuff. Ain’t nobody got time fo dat.

You do know you can disable the tabs, don’t you, and get everything in your inbox like before?

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**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/13 "2013-11-20T13:53:53Z")

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The recent changes to Yahoo Groups (mailing lists) has many, many people furious and they’re not wrong.

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**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:** [November 20, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/14 "2013-11-20T20:56:53Z")

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> [@Colibri](#):
>
> You do know you can disable the tabs, don’t you, and get everything in your inbox like before?

Yep. I undid this they day they started it. If I want to sort my mail I’ll sort it myself.

**Inna Minnit** , click on the gear icon in the upper left, then click on “Configure Inbox.” Uncheck everything except Primary and click Save.

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**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/15 "2013-11-20T21:28:13Z")

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I love the irony that a couple of days before the kerfuffle over Yahoo reading emails, Yahoo said they going to encrypt emails so the NSA can’t read them.

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**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-yahoo-has-screwed-up-twice-more/674283/16 "2013-11-20T23:14:53Z")

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Yeah, the new interface they recently changed to is horrible. And today I’ve been unable to read my emails, just getting a message that says “A Connection Failure Has Occurred”.

My main reason I haven’t switched to Gmail is that I’m paranoid about the same company having access to both my web searches and my emails. That’s a hell of a lot of information.

If I switch to another email provider, is there a convenient way to transfer all my old emails to my new account, or to download them to my computer?
