I have gmail. You can gmail me if you like. Once the novelty has worn off I shall probably not bother with gmail, the same way I don't bother with hotmail or any of the other webmail accounts I have. I already have enough email addresses and I am way, way too lazy to go to a website to check my mail when I can get Eudora to download it all for me automatically.
If I'm away from home and I need my email, I just use mail2web to get at it instead. I right now can't see the need for gmail in my life. But hey, if it's a cool kid thing, then fair enough. After all, look how far Orkut got on that basis.
Anyway, subject came up on IRC, and here's a snippet of the conversation around it (edited for length). I think Kevin makes a good point. So does Termie.
[08:52] {sillygwailo} oh yeah, the bastard has a Gmail account too
[08:52] {Suw} what's the point of gmail?
[08:53] {sillygwailo} Suw: bragging rights
[08:53] {Suw} i already have six email accounts
[08:53] * sillygwailo has far more than six
[08:53] {Suw} you mean, the fact that i have a gmail acount is somehow important?
[08:53] {idlyadam} Actually, I consolidated all my email into gmail…
[08:53] * nikete too sadly has far more than 6
[08:53] {sillygwailo} Suw: yes dammit
[08:53] * nikete doesnt get why
[08:54] {nikete} allmost everyone with a blogger accoutn wo had been usng it got one IIRC
[08:54] {sillygwailo} nikete: yeah, *almost*
[08:54] {nikete} whats s special about it?
[08:54] {idlyadam} yeah… except me… I had to beg one off Andy Baio.
[08:54] {termie} nikete: it's a cool kid thing
[08:54] {sillygwailo} it's invite-only. duh.
[08:54] {idlyadam} The interface strikes a really nice balance between power and simplicity… and thunderbird has always had too many quirks.
[08:55] {sillygwailo} heresy!
[08:55] {idlyadam} I want a mail app that works as well as OE5Mac did…
[08:57] {jeff} I can't understand the people who are actually using gmail for important things.
[08:57] {termie} jeff: ditto
[08:57] {sillygwailo} as if it's the first time geeks have used untested software with mission-critical data
[08:58] {idlyadam} good thing my email isn't mission critical… even for me…
[08:58] {termie} jeff: it is fun to play with and is much nicer than hotmail or the like, but I've got my own mail server
[08:59] {jeff} It isn't just the untested software that bothers me. Its the ToS (IGNORING the “privacy” fiasco) and the fact that there's no way to get your mail OUT… 🙂
[08:59] {sillygwailo} I know a guy who I suspect has given up on email for communication. and he's a guy who purposely avoids using aggregators and, AND he's a web nerd. every time he replies to an email, he strips out his email address. I guess he expects me to talk to him on IM or not at all
[09:00] {KevinMarks} All email is public. email passes through arbitrary unknown serves in the clear and all email is readable by subpoena so, just treat email as public speech
[09:02] {sillygwailo} yep. privacy is dead
[09:02] {snowchyld} if i was subpoena'd id rm /var/mail/* and rm /home/*/mail/*
[09:02] {KevinMarks} OK, sc all email except that between paranoid crypto nuts
[09:02] {KevinMarks} that woudl eb contempt of court
[09:02] {snowchyld} bummer
[09:02] {KevinMarks} you woudl go to jail
[09:02] {termie} I don't see why you would store your email on somebody elses machine if you didn't want to be read, then again, if your eally don't want it to be read you'd be using PGP
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