Gmail
by Jon Shea
31 August 2005
Anyone else noticed that Slate has started using gmail accounts?
pressbox@slate.com has become slate.pressbox@gmail.com
I can’t see any reason for this. I doubt an online magazine would outsource email to save on expenses. Likewise, I doubt that it is paid placement for gmail. Any thoughts?
Also, is the comment format stifling discussion? I’ll try to make the font bigger, or something.
Sep 1, 12:09 PM
I hadn’t noticed about the GMail accounts until you mentioned it, but I think it’s a smart strategy. Maintaining a mail server is a pain in the ass. Much easier to let Google do the work of filtering out spam, backing up messages, and of course, that search feature is pretty nice too.
Re: Comment format … I do find the current layout a little cramped, although speaking only for myself, it has not prevented me from shooting my mouth off any more than I would have done in any case. For reading, I do prefer a slightly larger serif face, although the sans-serif is fine for the titles and lists and such. Just my tuppence-worth, in any case.
Sep 5, 07:21 PM
Mail servers are a pain, this I have learned. But my gut tells me that it is worth it for an online magazine to write from AwesomeAuthor@Magazine.com, rather than Author@freeaccount.com
Sep 6, 08:33 AM
I don’t think they’d be nearly so concerned about having magazine.com on their e-mail addresses as they would be for their web sites. With so many people using throwaway webmail accounts, the impact of seeing username@my-domain.com is far less interesting than it used to be. The web is now identified with the Internet by Joe Sixpack.