Am I the only philistine?

I really hate the incorporation of Google Talk into Gmail.

Totally. Completely. Hate. It.

I’m not trying to hide from the world or anything, but why do I have to announce to everyone that I am online every time I check my mail? Or vice versa… if I am in chat mode, now I cannot tell if a friend has popped up on my buddy list because they want to yak or just because they are checking e-mail. It bugs me.

Yes, I am coming down with something. I’m pre-sick grumpy. Bite me.

UPDATE: Ok, so I finally found the teeny, tiny link at the bottom of the page that says “Gmail view: standard with chat or standard without chat.” Do you think that makes me less grumpy to look like an idiot? No, it does not. Grr.

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9 Responses to Am I the only philistine?

  1. Empress says:

    I felt violated that they made that the default. I don’t IM – EVER – and it appalled me to have my presence known to all who enter. (And, yes, I turned it off, too.)

  2. there is a positive to this adventure. well, two. one, i’ve a fresh reason to make fun of you. two, i can now turn off the chat in my gmail, vis-a-vis your discovery.

  3. Sherri says:

    I’m just avoiding the whole thing. I don’t trust Google. That whole “don’t be evil” thing always sounded like a big cover story.

  4. *** Dave says:

    Call me a philistine, but I don’t use GMail. I have an account, but I just use it as a backup.

    I do use Google Talk, though. And I have GMail backing it up, too. But I like having the little client on my machine (and being able to turn it off, too).

    Having e-mail browsing “by default” making your chat presence known seems kinda goofy.

  5. Mikey says:

    If it wasn’t for G talk I wouldn’t have had my blog rolling that YOU did so well. Also, there is a way to hide yourself from the unwanted. Under your name choose sign out, that will hide you. M. ps again thanks dude.

  6. Les says:

    Doesn’t bother me, but then I use the POP3 feature to download my Gmail into Thunderbird along with the three other email accounts I have elsewhere so most of the time I’m able to check Gmail without actually going to the site.

    When I’m at work I usually have Google Talk running anyway so having it show up in Gmail when I do use the web interface isn’t a problem.

  7. Karan says:

    GRRRRRRooooLLLLLWWWWW

  8. David July says:

    Yeah, but it is funnier for the rest of us this way.

  9. jayne d'Arcy says:

    get well, solly baby! and thanks, now I know how to turn it off, too!

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