Gmail finally does it

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:58 pm

No more opting out of the "new look" -- they took away the "revert to the old look temporarily" option. Mad

So now I'm trying to relearn how to use Gmail, and banging my head on the desk because every 'theme' selection leaves a background color on the body of the email text, making it harder to read. No more plain white background. Idiots.

Not to mention Firefox did a forced update to the latest version. No opt-out allowed. Now some add-ons won't work, and they've changed some of the buttons. The refresh button is on the other side of the toolbar.

Why do these guys keep messing up a perfectly good thing???

[/rant]

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:13 pm

Of my 26 gmail accounts they only managed to "force" the new look on 1/2 of them. My primary RL personal one is still on the old look but I know the day is coming. A couple of them did give me the option to "revert" to the old look.

Also I noticed when I am in one of my gmail accounts, and I go to another website, the gmail account does not stay open and I have to re-log in.

The new look is more difficult for my old eyes to handle. I would change back to Yahoo, but every time I log into my accounts there, I have to use the damn CAPTCHA crap.

And then there is 4shared, which now requires you to log in to hear an audio clip and if you don't have Premium you are subjected to listening/seeing ads before you can hear the audio clip.

New technology! Paooty!

Baiting Guru Joined: 27 Mar 2011 Posts: 21158

I've noticed this in a few of mine this morning. This new look, as they call it, kills my eyes. It seems they have not had enough complaints yet.

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:19 pm

Quote:

every 'theme' selection leaves a background color on the body of the email text, making it harder to read

Wouldn't this be potentially advantageous to a baiter?

Bruin (who does not use g-mail)

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:33 pm

Quote:

every 'theme' selection leaves a background color on the body of the email text, making it harder to read

My theme doesnt do that....

Im using the planets theme.

I do agree with the firefox thing, i ranted at them when i had the beta test for this version, but i ended up getting used to the refresh button moving.

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:39 pm

In the 'new look' the planets theme puts the list of mail in white text on black, very hard to read. The emails themselves have a gray background.

They say that a lot of the old themes have been discontinued. Rolling Eyes

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:41 pm

Welcome to the machine... Neutral

Learn how to do things and pass it on. If you don't, we'll not survive!

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:45 pm

Ah ive always found white/on black nicer on my eyes, hence why i like that theme. Also on a random note i like the lavafox extension for firefox, dark is good Smile

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 11:35 pm

Young eyes become old eyes at some point then see how you like the themes. I have trouble even driving at night with those damn new bluish lights coming at me.

Those accounts which have forced the new look on me I found if I went with solid color and one of the pastels I can soldier on with it.

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 11:37 pm

Hate this new Gmail thing, I hung on with the old look, now 3 out of 4 accounts have been changed. The left dropdown box half disappears until you point it and the colours don't help.

Expect I will (have to) get used to it in time but why change it in the first place?

That's it, I''m off outside to strangle some cats.

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 11:41 pm

No worries... you'll get rid of it in 8 months time, when they think up something equally horrible and confusing to put instead.

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 11:42 pm

When you are finished strangling some cats, please come to my place and take care of a rouge Tom cat that has been terrorizing the neighborhood. He even managed to break through a locked cat door a neighbor had. So far I have hosed him down, shot my air pistol in his direction and the local dog catcher only comes out and says "here kitty kitty!! I may have to take more drastic action. He won't go into one of the humane traps we have.

Ah, the Dane comes through with a breath of hope.

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:00 am

^
I was only joking about the strangling - honest Very Happy

If you keep cats yourself and this Tom is half wild ( Barn Cat as we call them in the UK ) and the local animal rescue services can't help then I am afraid only a well aimed .22 bullet appears to be the only solution.
If you don't have cats then a dog would help. No easy answers to this.

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:20 am

Back on topic--I have the "basic white" theme, and it is plain black on white.

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 5:48 am

To give some light in the darkness for the oldtimers here, change to "basic HTML" and there won't be any themes bothering you.

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:19 am

I use the Cartoon Ninja theme, seems easy enough. I can still hear my mom shouting obscenities from the room next to mine though. She absolutely hates the new GMail. Doesn't really bother me though, just another reason not to check my college email account Very Happy

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:03 am

the vampire wrote:

change to "basic HTML"

Someone suggested that, but I cannot find where to do that. I used to see that option in the "old" version we "old timers" like.

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:48 pm

The 'Basic HTML' version is a crude, clunky version of the old look. It's a stripped-down, bare-bones interface originally made for dial-up. It's not the old look, and for them to suggest it to those of us who hate the new one is a classic "let them eat cake" response.

@Morgain, it's hard to find but if you go through the Help link and hunt long enough they give you a written link and tell you to bookmark it. It's a totally backdoor approach, impossible to reach directly through Gmail.

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:09 pm

^^^^ Sounds like work. I will soldier on and cope with this new look. As The Dane says in 8 or so months they will change again and that gives me hope! Laughing

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:25 pm

Fortunately they have not totally ignored all the complaints, only 99% of them. Since they launched this a few months ago they've made it possible to replace the icons for 'delete', 'spam', 'move to' etc. with actual words like they used in the good old days. It's a new choice under "settings": change "button labels" from the default icons to text. It's only one small part of what they need to bring back, but it's a start.

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:51 pm

Thank you, thank you, thank you. bow_down

It is a start!

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 18313

My primary complaint with the new format is that it is difficult to glance at the inbox and tell which mail is read and which are unread. Does anyone have a suggestion for which theme has the most difference or are they all the same in terms of almost no tint?
Edit: Found one called "high contrast". I still hate the new format.

One setting I found that seems to have improved the new format, to some degree, is switching to "compact" (other choices are something like cozy and comfortable).

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:24 pm

I've tried every theme. High Contrast is the easiest to work with, but it's bland as hell. I liked having at least some color. But it's better that than some of the ones that are totally unreadable...

According to Gmail, 'compact' is the same as the old version. It's not entirely true; the emails display the same but the list on the left (inbox, sent etc). is higher and further to the side. I'm using 'cozy' because it brings everything a bit lower and closer together -- which is ironic, since that's what 'compact' should do.

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:31 pm

Yep, the new gmail sucks.

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:57 pm

I'm a bit leary of trying this, but I'm tempted:

http://techably.com/make-gmail-older-look-permanent/4215/

I found it on a Gmail forum so I'm assuming it's safe.

EDIT to add:

Go here to let Google know how you feel about their "improved" version.