I feel this is a usability flaw in Gmail’s "Mark as read" contextual menu item.

For all the contextual actions, once the action is done, the checkbox status is turned back to default - i.e. not-checked.

However when you "Mark as read", the mails remain marked i.e. checked, even after the action has taken place. This means the user has to manually un-check all the mails before he takes another action. Thus he is always at a risk of taking wrong action on the un-intentionally checked mails.

I think, once the "Mark as read" or "Mark as unread" is done, the checkbox status of the mails should be turned back to the default. This will provide users a predictable and expected system which is consistent with other options of simmilar nature.

Abhishek

I am a big fan of Gmail because of its speed and simplicity. However Gmail makes life hell lot of difficult in some cases -

1. The Threading Bug
While threading, Gmail creates threads based on the “Subject” of the email. It should be “Subject” & “Sender/Reciepient”. It is very cumbersome to sort out and read mails in reference when you are dealing with two or more people with the same subject.

It all gets jumbled up.

2.  Keyboard shortcuts
Some of the keyboard shortcuts are so “short” that they get pressed accidentally. This results in a terrible anxiety.

3. Stupid web clips
It is very common to see stupid web clips like “Spam potato salad”. They do not make any sense and causes unwanted distraction.

I look forward to see these corrected very soon

Abhishek

Hi Folks,

Gmail is fast.
Gmail is easy to use.
Gmail is virus and spam free.
Gmail is web based and universally accessible.

But, for most internet users, the biggest turn off is the fact that you cannot use your own domain name with Gmail. In fact no free webmail service is known to me which provides this facility as on today.

However there is a workaround! You can use the “cool and fast” interface of Gmail and send/receive mails using your “professional” email ID using your own domain name.

• Grab a domain name. Register it from any leading registrar
• Host the domain on a reliable server
• Create an Email account. Say you created yourname@yourdomainname.com
• Open a Gmail account say yourname@gmail.com
• Now you can set a forwarder in your server to forward all mails coming to yourname@yourdomainname.com to yourname@gmail.com. Thus you are keeping a copy of all incoming emails on your server and sending a copy to your Gmail account so that you can access it from there.
• Now log into your Gmail account. Go to Settings => Accounts. Click on Add another email address. Enter yourname@yourdomainname.com email address there and confirm.
• Now Google will send you a verification email. Since it will be sent to yourname@yourdomainname.com, it will be forwarded to yourname@gmail.com. So you can instantly check that and enter the validation code.
• Once validated, you can again go to Settings => Account and mark this account as your default account.
• Now, whenever you will send an email, it will go from yourname@yourdomainname.com even when you are sending it from your Gmail account. And of course all replies will come to your gmail interface as yourname@yourdomainname.com emails are forwarded there.

Enjoy the productivity enhancement Gmail offers to you without losing on your brand image.

Regards

Abhishek