# What is gmail?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gmail/252999
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 1, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gmail/252999 "2004-07-01T03:46:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@acrossthesea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acrossthesea)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gmail/252999/1 "2004-07-01T03:46:45Z")
I feel like I’m missing some important piece of information. As if I’d just awakened from a coma and found the world was mostly the same and unchanged, only with new confusing additions…like Gmail! So what is it?
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gmail/252999/2 "2004-07-01T03:50:54Z")
It is Google’s free webmail service, currently available via invitation only. They give you 1000MB of storage and advanced searching capabilities to go through all your old stuff. In exchange for this, they display contextual ads (hopefully) related to the content of the mail you’re reading.
If you want an invite, let me know. I’ve got a bunch of them.
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### Author:  [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2004, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gmail/252999/3 "2004-07-01T05:30:59Z")
Anyone read [this](http://gmail-is-too-creepy.com/)? Any comments
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### Author:  [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gmail/252999/4 "2004-07-01T06:19:17Z")
> [@Cicero](#):
>
> Anyone read [this](http://gmail-is-too-creepy.com/)? Any comments
Well, here’s one opposing opinion:
[http://www.aplawrence.com/Reviews/gmail.html](http://www.aplawrence.com/Reviews/gmail.html)
Make up your own mind, I guess.
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Griffin-Kentzel)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gmail/252999/5 "2004-07-01T17:50:24Z")
Since this is a question with a factual answer, I’ll move it to [**General Questions**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=3) for you.
**Cajun Man**
for the SDMB
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### Author:  [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gmail/252999/6 "2004-07-01T18:13:16Z")
Friedo,
If you are serious about the invitations I would like one. You can email me from my profile.