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News & ArtsWednesday, March 25, 2009
Teh Internets Undo
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 8:06 AM
Finally, a solution to a dreaded problem:
(CNN) — Most of us have done it. Instead of hitting "reply" to an e-mail, we accidentally push "reply all," sending a potentially embarrassing or insulting message to those we didn't intend to see it.To address this problem, Google Inc.'s Gmail Labs has launched an experimental feature called "Undo Send" that gives users a chance to rewrite their message, correct settings or simply fix typos.
When a Gmail user who enables this feature sends an e-mail, a button that says "Undo" will pop up on their screen for five seconds. If the user hits the button within that time, the service will retrieve the e-mail in draft form — allowing the user to make changes or cancel the message altogether.
So many friendships, marriages, jobs will be saved by these five seconds. The world is going to be a better place.
2
Why not just re-read your message before you hit 'send' in the first place? Are we really so stupid and thoughtless that we can't proofread our own writing?
3
@2 Replace stupid and thoughtless with hurried and thoughtless. Many people dash off quick notes, and then send them without double checking.
The e-mails that get people in trouble often aren't the ones that are mulled over.
The e-mails that get people in trouble often aren't the ones that are mulled over.
4
Why not just re-read your message before you hit 'send' in the first place?
People *do* re-read their message, they just don't always re-read the header.
And this undo isn't going to save the word. Many users that Reply to All don't realize their mistake within five seconds of sending the message. And even if they do they'll have to click on the Undo link. I know some people who can't find out what to click on to compose a new message in gmail.
People *do* re-read their message, they just don't always re-read the header.
And this undo isn't going to save the word. Many users that Reply to All don't realize their mistake within five seconds of sending the message. And even if they do they'll have to click on the Undo link. I know some people who can't find out what to click on to compose a new message in gmail.
7
My email allows me to unsend right up until it is opened by the receiver. I am suprised that all email accounts don't have that feature.
8
@5: a week-old piece of minor news that hasn't been posted to the slog previously. What's the harm there? Chill.
9
@7 how is that possible? Wouldn't it mean your account has access to your recipient's account? I call BS.
12
@7: Perhaps within your company e-mail system (such as Exchange), but not once it gets out into the outside world.
13
They could also solve the other cause of this problem by requiring people to blow into a breathalyzer before sending an email.
14
It would be even more useful if you had to blow into a breathalyzer before it would allow you to click "send."
17
I think @7 may be referring to MS Outloook's "recall" feature, which DOES allow one to retrieve unopened emails before they're read. However, it's a function with which most users aren't familiar, and IME its ability to quickly pull back messages is spotty, at best.
Also, if you hit "reply all" and end up sending that message to a lot of people, the chances of at least one of them opening the email before Outlook can recall it is very good, at which point, "the cat is out of the bag" as the saying goes.
Really, the best solution is to just not e-mail anything you wouldn't want the entire world to read, because invariably, you're going to make a mistake somewhere down the line and end up sending something to people whom you didn't intend to read it.
Also, if you hit "reply all" and end up sending that message to a lot of people, the chances of at least one of them opening the email before Outlook can recall it is very good, at which point, "the cat is out of the bag" as the saying goes.
Really, the best solution is to just not e-mail anything you wouldn't want the entire world to read, because invariably, you're going to make a mistake somewhere down the line and end up sending something to people whom you didn't intend to read it.
18
Urgutha Forka = 5280, interesting
Wasn't it just asserted yesterday that 5280 in turn is Will in Seattle?
Are there actually more than three Slog commenters?
Wasn't it just asserted yesterday that 5280 in turn is Will in Seattle?
Are there actually more than three Slog commenters?
19
I was just saying this last night, that I wanted an "undo" feature in gmail (I sent an e-mail to the wrong person -- not a big deal, but I was annoyed).
The Outlook recall feature has never worked for me. I think maybe it has to be recalling an e-mail that was sent to someone at your company, and not the outside world...
The Outlook recall feature has never worked for me. I think maybe it has to be recalling an e-mail that was sent to someone at your company, and not the outside world...
20
I vaguely remember AOL, back in the 90s when my family had it, having that function. But it may have only worked for other AOL members.
25
I'd like to undue my sack.
Do you think the chechen-ians want a new brand of loft drinky in the wink-ee?
Do you think the chechen-ians want a new brand of loft drinky in the wink-ee?
26
Not a big fan of the "recall" feature - @12 has it right. But Outlook definitely has the ability to do exactly this: it's easy to set it to hold all - or some - of your email for an arbitrary time before sending it, just in case you decide to change your mind.
28
@7, @17: That may well be a feature of Exchange, but that would only work if the receiver's account were on the same server as the sender's. Otherwise, it's simply not possible. Once an SMTP server transmits an e-mail message to another server, that message is literally controlled by the destination server. You can't delete or "undo" it without hacking into the recipient's account server.
29
When I create a text message on my phone, then select a recipient - the first option is gives me is "select all". It's a miracle I haven't incurred something socially catastrophic because of this, yet.
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