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/mail/community?hl=en
12/6/11
Original Poster
sumrall.t.m

Gmail's new look: Do Not Want!

I do not like Gmail's new look. Many, many other people do not like Gmail's new look.

I have read that the old look will be "retired" soon. My question is, why? Why forcibly retire a look that many users tell you they prefer?

Please do not force us to switch to a new (and might I add, hideous) interface if we don't like it. Changing things for the sake of changing them, despite quite a bit of negative feedback, and more importantly, without giving users the choice to not have their interface changed, is a horribly blind management decision. I stopped using my Google Reader after the layout switch. I will stop using Gmail if a new layout is likewise forced upon me. Users want choice and ease-of-use. If you take away that choice and force users to adapt to a new look they may not like, you will lose users. (And I doubt you will be attracting new users based solely on the dubious merits of the new look.)

I sincerely hope Google is rethinking their plan to forcibly retire the old look. I am not the only user who hates the new look and will be perfectly happy to migrate to another email provider if it becomes apparent that my concerns do not matter to Google.


Also, an addendum: I also deeply resent being pestered by that "Switch to the new look" button. Closing it once should be more than enough indication to Gmail that I'm not interested. Making that button a permanent fixture every time I log in to Gmail is irritating, and seems pretty disrespectful of your users' wishes. If I'm not going to have any choice about being forced into the new look, at least let me permanently hide that button for my last few weeks of enjoying Gmail. For pete's sake.




Operating system (e.g. WinXP): WinXP, Win7
Program and version you use to access Gmail (e.g. Internet Explorer 9 or Outlook 2003):  Firefox
Your antivirus software (e.g. Norton 2007): various by machine
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All Replies (833)
g.bruny
12/7/11
g.bruny
Um I can't opt out google 'new look'. Why not????
 
Well google SCREW YOUR NEW LOOK!
 
I don't want it, and I hear it's bugged anyway. Read the chatter.
 
Google FAIL
stanzimny
12/7/11
stanzimny
I want the old gmail - the new one should be an option. If the old gmail does not come back I will go to Yahoo email.
AlexGawley
12/8/11
AlexGawley
Hi folks,

I’m a Product Manager on Gmail and I want to answer some of your questions.

First of all, let me say that I’m sorry that you don’t prefer the new look. We knew with such a large visual change to Gmail, that whilst there would be many folks that really like the new look there would be some folks who preferred the old look and others who might take some time to adjust to the new one. Our data shows that people do generally prefer the visual design of the new look, but we completely understand that this is no solace for someone who does not. Because of this, we’ve been taking a phased approach to rolling out the new look.

We started a month ago with the ability to opt in and switch back and forth. We had a very large number of users try out the new look and the overwhelming majority of them stuck with it. In this phase we also got lots of great feedback on specific issues we needed to address. We’ve been rolling out fixes for those [1] and are excited to continue that dialogue with you, so please keep the specific feedback coming. [4]


Earlier this week, we started automatically enabling accounts for the new look. The option to switch back and forth remains in place and again we’ve seen a small percentage of users switch back. Eventually (sometime early next year) we will remove the option to switch back to the old look and all Gmail accounts will need to be on the new look.

As you know, Gmail has always provided customization, allowing you to change your experience through settings, themes, or even to use IMAP or POP to access Gmail in a totally different interface. So, some of you have specifically asked why we can’t just maintain the old look forever so you can choose between them. One answer to this is complexity. The Gmail interface is generated entirely using Javascript. Every element you see on the screen has a small (or sometimes large) amount of Javascript code that draws the component and determines the actions that Gmail will take when you interact with it. Because the new and old looks are so different, the elements on the page are essentially created by two different versions of the code. [2] That means that right now, the Gmail codebase is much larger that it should be. That “code complexity” has implications for our ability to build new features for you and to keep Gmail bug free [3] so we have to work to reduce it. Retiring the old look will enable us to focus our engineering effort on continually improving the new look and building better features to help you manage your mail.

In addition to this complexity, another reason we’re retiring the old look is that we’re also trying to ensure a more consistent approach across Google. The changes in Gmail are also reflected in Google Search, Google Docs, Google Calendar and more. Google users have told us in the past that using Google doesn’t feel as coordinated and connected as they’d like, and this visual convergence is a first step in that direction.

We know that this transition can be jarring for some users, and we hope that by providing the ability to switch back and forth between the old and new look for a time we can help to alleviate some of that. We’re really appreciative of your patience during this time.

I hope I’ve been able to give you at least some insight into the approach we’re taking and the rationale for it. Please keep the feedback on how we could change the new look coming. We’re listening and will be very focused on continuing to improve it in 2012.

Thanks, Alex.

marikeet
12/8/11
marikeet
I suggest that the people who hate the new look have your gmail forwarded to another account. You won't have to go to all the trouble of telling everyone your new address, you will just read your gmail somewhere else.  We will still be using up 
Google's space, but not seeing their ads.  I think most internet service providers give you an email account.  There are lots of other free emails to try.  It seems that Alex Gawley's response is that they don't care about us and we are going to have the new look forced on us eventually. I really don't care about his reasons because I just don't want to look at ugly angry colors and get eye strain reading my mail. The new look makes me sad.  I don't want to need antidepressants just to read my email.  I am already testing different emails so I will be ready to leave when the time comes. I have tried the new look several times and I continue to hate it.  The first time I tried it I actually cried because I thought that I wouldn't be able to change back.  I changed back to the old look and I am enjoying the nice peaceful colors, ease of use and readability while it lasts.    Everyone please reply if you will be leaving Gmail and let them count their lost customers, then actually be ready to leave as soon as the old look is gone forever. If enough people really leave, then maybe they will let us keep the good version of our email.
dopamineboy
12/8/11
dopamineboy
I seriously wonder of Google designers are on drugs. Are u kidding with the new Gmail design. It looks horrible, and it's much harder to navigate.
Why does Google keep having to screw around with perfectly good designs.
Are u trying to drive us away to other companies?
827 MORE
Sarah
3/31/12
Sarah
Yes, I think some threads got unlocked during the migration. I'm going to mark this thread as a duplicate of the main thread, so we can better keep track.
 
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