Yahoo Mail and the little checkbox that could

by Ian Smith May 31st 2007

Yahoo Ads Back the Checkbox to Yahoo Mail

Many users of Yahoo's new Mail application have recently noticed the sudden (and very welcome) return of a long lost old friend: the checkbox. While Yahoo's massive and very exciting mail overhaul focused on making web email function more like desktop email, they forgot this one important feature from their web mail roots.

The checkbox's triumphant return is testament to the mistakes designers often make when they cater to their power users. It also shows the need for applications to focus on simple, visual, and adaptive (as in "single click") controls. Before they added back in the CheckBox you could still select multiple messages by holding the Ctrl key or select all messages by pressing Ctrl-A, but these shortcuts were difficult to communicate to anyone but the power desktop user. The checkbox, however, is easy to understand.

The other cool thing about the checkbox (and a reason why it could be a cool addition even to desktop mail clients) is that it lets you interact with multiple messages or select all messages using only your mouse. Trying to explain to your Grandmother that she needs to hold a key on her keyboard while carefully clicking on each message is neigh on impossible, it is easier for her to just move one message at a time. But give her a checkbox and she's in business! The checkbox makes organizing into folders much more accessible to all users, power or otherwise.

This brings us to the other old-is-new feature recently added back to Yahoo Mail: the move button. Again, you can move messages just by dragging and dropping, but that requires a precise (i.e. difficult) series of mouse moves that make the application less than accessible. By adding back the checkbox and the move button Yahoo Mail now has the power of a Web 2.0 mail client but the flexibility to be used just like a good old fashion "Hotmail inspired" mail client. Which just goes to show that the newest, flashiest, and most amazing features are nothing but liabilities if only 10% of your audience are comfortable using them.

Interested in doing more with Yahoo Mail? Check out our top 11 list of tips and tricks.

Tags: application design, ApplicationDesign, checkbox, yahoo mail, YahooMail

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Nic said 2:21AM on 6-01-2007

I am happy to see the checkbox come back but I was REALLY SAD (Mr. Kennedy (wink,wink,nod,nod)) to see the little Spam-Flame go away from the message list headers. It was quicker and more convienient (for me anyways) than the check boxes to get rid of spam in my inbox while still looking at other emails! PLEASE BRING IT BACK!

The only complaint is that my server farm (us.f570) has yet to be updated to include the mail-chat features, something I've been super eager to check out. I've been a dedicated user since 1998, what does a guy have to do to get some updated contact list messagin lovin?

For "would be nice features": an auto-save function while writting emails, too many times has my browser/computer crashed and I've lost long emails; the ability to view a folder and RSS feeds at the same time in different tabs!

Two thumbs up on the ability to slide the right side advertisement out of the way!

Thank you Yahoo!Mail Beta Team, whoever you are!

Keep the improvements coming.

Jenny said 6:36AM on 6-01-2007

I still prefer Yahoo Classic. It is really convenient when handling large amount of emails and noticeably faster too.

Jenny
http://www.spaml.com

Scott said 10:10AM on 6-01-2007

Has the Yahoo Mail Beta actually gotten fast enough for people to use? Seriously? Every time I've tried it I've been appalled after a few minutes and have switched back to classic mail.

Ian said 1:07PM on 6-01-2007

Speed was an issue at the start, but I've been using it for many months now without a problem. It still takes a moment to load but once you are in it is much faster to browse through your mail then the old Yahoo Mail. The only thing I miss is the ability to open messages in FireFox tabs, but given how easy it is to browse messages in your inbox I rarely find a case where I would use tabs anymore.

Nic said 1:26PM on 6-01-2007

I'm not sure how it works or if it was a coincidence or if it was my comment, but I now have the chat function! The only down side is that my work computer does not have updated flash! So I have to wait till tonight to check it out! (Mr. Kennedy, THANK YOU if you had anything to do with it!)

to Scott, the speed is actually really fast, all things considered. Sometimes there is a slight lag when I drag a message to a folder, especially when I have to drop the message that is at the bottom of my folder list (I have a LOT of folders).

I read in the Yodel Blog about the ability to pull up Y!Local/Maps when an address is given in the Classic Mail. Any word if that function is going to be transfered to Beta & when?

iamhoff said 1:51PM on 6-01-2007

I love the Mail Beta. I think it's a very slick and attractive interface, and once it gets loaded (unlike when I get loaded) it moves quickly. The only problem I've encountered is when it tries to load up the chat, it hangs up several times. I use chat at home, but not at work, so I don't want to tell it to not load chat ever, but it can be a minor ass irritant (not a full pain in the ass).

james 42 said 4:32PM on 6-01-2007

Ya, but the spam filter is still crap.

Prosthetic Lips said 8:05AM on 11-06-2007

A few points:

(1) The other nice feature of the checkbox is that the message does NOT get dumped into the lower reading pane. Nice for those stupid spams that make it through their (pretty decent but not perfect) spam filter.

(2) Speaking of need-to-add features, a way to eliminate a lot of the startup boxes like the weather would be nice. I already have a weather site that I like (and subscribe to), so I don't need to wait an extra few seconds just to tell me what the weather is right now. If I want to know the weather, I'll turn to my left and look out the window! It's either feature-bloat (yea, M$) or wowsers-look-what-we-could-add-here functionality.

(3) I, too, used the beta early on and couldn't wait to turn on the classic. I recently tried it again, and while it has not gotten (and probably will never get) as fast as the classic version, it is fast enough. Yes, the startup is slow (see #2 above), but reading mail isn't as bad as it was.

I'm a convert, and I'll stick with the "new" interface now.

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