Using Gmail to read Threaded Conversations from Listservs
December 21st, 2006 | Posted in blog 6 Comments »
I’ve started using Gmail as my application for listserv messages — I think it has more potential, but I’m still getting used to it. Someone posted this link on Digg: http://g04.com/misc/GmailTipsComplete.html It has about 50 tips for using Gmail. Looks useful.
The reason I started using Gmail is because it threads conversations from listservs. The problem with Outlook or Outlook Express is that if you want to read a conversation on a listserv, you have to resort to grouping them by clicking the Conversation heading. This works, but I don’t really like doing it.
Gmail threads listserv conversations directly into the message. In the image below, you see numbers in parentheses after certain people. When you click the message, it shows the most recent message on top, and then appends the other messages in the thread below it. The numbers represent the number of messages in the thread.
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Let me know how it goes… I’ve started using my Gmail account more and more lately. Their spam filters are flawless, for one thing, and I don’t worry that an email will get eaten by my server. I’m curious how it handles listservs.
In the bottom of the post, I added a little note about how Gmail threads conversations. I wanted to include an image. Of all email applications, I think it handles listservs well, but unfortunately I don’t read enough listservs to really know whether it works. I like to be subscribed to listservs, but I usually only read them when I’m searching for information.
I personally hate gmail for listserv reading. It would be good for this if it wasn’t for the inevitable listserv users who break the threads. (These are usually digest users who can’t reply to an individual message, so just create a new one copying the subject line.) When this happens, gmail moves the new broken thread to the top of the list because it has the latest message in it. The problem with organizing your threads by the last message in the thread instead of the first message in the thread is that if someone then replies to the original thread, it now gets moved to the top. So, the two pieces of the thread keep moving in relationship to each other as well as the other threads as people reply to both pieces. This makes it really difficult for me to find the start of a thread when I want it or any particular message in it. I can search for it, but I shouldn’t have to. In Thunderbird, the threads are organized by the first message date, so even when the threads get broken, I know that the first piece of the thread will be higher up in my window. It’s much easier to scan and find messages, and I can always result to searching in Thunderbird too if I need to. As soon as I get my email organized (ha!), I’m closing my gmail account and using Thunderbird for everything.
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