How to process Gather mail- why can't we...?

Many things on Gather don't make sense.

OK, I'll grant you that, though it doesn't necessarily distinguish Gather from other groups, institutions, clubs or organizations. It just seems to me that email programming has been around for so long that one should expect more sophistication as a basic level of service. I'm not trying to be a jerk (unlike other times...). I don't really see why Gather wants space used up by 10's of thousands of emails that there is no easy mechanism for getting rid of. The space could be used for comments praising my posts, my sense of humor, my insouciant smile, and my untamed cowlick. Or, the space could be used for articles on the virtue of Kat W.'s comments, their concise nature that gets right to the heart of the matter, not a word wasted, not a syllable that doesn't make a point (so unlike me in this particular case). Or, the space could be used for giant marketing campaigns to make many of us very wealthy through no particular efforts of our own. Or maybe the space could be just free-range server space, kind of a Wild West of the Web, full of mustangs and cougars and lacking in fences, where the stars shine by the millions and the days are not cloudy, and the Milky Way is not just a candy bar. A man can but dream...

Gather needs to start thinking about ways we can organize a LOT of things. For my part, I'd like to be able to organize my groups into "groups of groups," e-mail into subject folders, etc.

Good points, Chuck!

James,

You're right, deleting mail messages should not be this difficult. However, until Gather makes changes to the mail system (they want to automatically eliminate older messages after x number of days) we're stuck with the process that is currently in place. Hopefully they will also provide better tools for managing mail when the messaging system is modified.

As you've noticed, keeping your inbox clean can be a significant challenge. At one time there was a technique available that would allow you to remove messages a little faster, and retain your position in your inbox or sent mail listing. Unfortunately that technique no longer works.

What you can do however is to open subsequent pages (2, 3, etc.) into separate browser tabs. Then take action against messages on those pages and close the tab when done.

To do this easily, hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) or CMD key (Mac) while clicking the page number you want to open. This technique also works for other types of content you want to remove on Gather.

There are other ways to easily remove multiple mail messages, but each requires an add-on/extension to be installed in your browser.

Thanks, Kevin. I had not thought of that approach, using multiple tabs, even though I'm the king of tabs (45 open now and still only 1 calorie!).

I totallly understand what you mean... the mail system frustrates me! pif

It's funny, I'd probably feel bad if I didn't receive mail, but it would be nice to have some modern controls. Even VCRs had fast forward... Best wishes!

Interesting and some good suggestions. Thanks for this conversation.
PIF

I'm glad it was worth a read- it's hard to know, sometimes... Thanks for your kind support!

You did very well, James. You are most welcome.

I don't think I've ever paid much attention to it. But then, I don't get very many emails. i think people ignore me because I'm so boring. LOL That's okay though because I love the Gather site. Woo Hoo for Gather.

Glad all is working well for you!

I haven't really noticed that. I just delete everything and start over if I get way behind-PIF

That would work. Thanks!

there are many things that could make gather easier to navigate, but the gather gods are more concerned with their earnings to make it easier for the members. -pif-

I thought I would try to bring some attention to this. Maybe they will fix it... Thanks!

The inbox is hard to handle-----PIF

My thoughts exactly. Thanks!

i'm with you on this, I wrote them about it before but don't recall ever hearing back from them. I guess we just hope it changes!

Thanks for the support. Kevin the site wizard says it is a feature of the current email system... I'd call it a bug, but what do I know?

Kevin, has answered for all of us who want to know.

Yes, he gave a good suggestion. Thanks.

MY E MAILS A SO FEW I DON'T HAVE TO MANY ISSUES PIF

Glad you don't have any issues! Best wishes

it's frustrating when you let the gather email build up so much
~Pay It Forward~

Yes, I do get overwhelmed at times. I receive many hundreds of emails a day, and many are important, but some aren't. I actually now read my gather emails in my spam folder to keep my in-box from being swamped (and I've turned off lots of notifications).

I get that too! that's why I don't let my mail buildup

~~pif

Wise of you! Thanks.

I have often thought of Gather mail as very frustrating. I avoid going there because of it and of course the emails just pile up. ~pif

I have the same problem. I hope you had a great holiday!

my emails overwhelm me.

It is frustrating at times. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

(c) you click "Delete Selected" then

(d) you go back to page one of your emails...?

Hi James ... Hadn't checked in with you for a while and just wanted to stop by and say hello. Sooo ... Hello.

And in answer to your question - Yes. And it's a bit aggravating; I lose my place sometimes if not careful. I also might not want to "keep it clean" and wouldn't want it cleaned out totally automatically; but when I do want to clean it up I'd like it to be easier ...

About the tabs answer from Kevin -- gee wiz --- that sounds like trying everything ya can think of to get the vacuum to work; then having someone come along and tell you to plug it in lol I'll have to try it.

Hi Lee... nice to hear from you!

Yes, Kevin's answer does sort of diffuse the outrage rather efficiently by providing a simple solution that works.

I have about 10,000 emails in my Gather acct at present. At 20 emails per page, or whatever it is, that would be a lot of tabs, though. I've turned of many notifications, but I seemed to have succeeded more in missing notifications I'd like to see than in eliminating ones I don't want.

As another suggestion, a filter for emails of the same title would be useful...

I haven't taken any photos in a while other than family snapshots, though I still have a few memory cards that need to be processed from some trip or other (probably more from Maine last summer, maybe some from guitar camp...).

I hope you had a great holiday. Best wishes!

off, not of... it is hard to turn notifications "of"... :)

Gotcha James :)

I've taken tons of photos but ran out of memory on the comp, then the comp wouldn't burn a dvd or let me get them out of the comp ... so I started saving them on the cards (which is prob a better way to go anyway) then I ran out of cards and kept forgetting to get more.

In any case, now I've got a new comp (they are fairly cheap these days compared to what they were ...) but with the new comp came a new OS I'm not familiar with and I haven't had a chance to install any of my photo editing software yet either -- I feel a little discombobulated for the moment lol.

James B. Nov 30, 2009, 4:22am EST
off, not of... it is hard to turn notifications "of"... :)