New sonic.net webmail application

[Guest]

Why disable Squirrelmail and such? Multiple versions are good. When there's a problem, we need backdoors to get at the server and delete the problem file asap. When we need a simple version, we REALLY need it.

As for features in the new version, I'd request an opt-in for a longer time before the session expires. That's been a problem with the old versions: too frequent requests for login.

[email protected] - longtime user now using your email from far away

[mary]

Does that mean you are deleting *squirrelmail* too?

Yes. We intend to reduce our current offering of five webmail interfaces (six if you count the newly-announced one) to one.

Boo! It's good to have several offerings. For me, Squirrelmail works the best of the current set, and the new beta looks too elaborate, too much overhead.

[wildfolk]

Can you quantify "slowly"? Are we talking about fractions of a second or several seconds? How many messages are in the folder?[/quote]

I don't know about anyone else, but on dial-up (some of us are poor and can't afford DSL folks), even using the legacy webmail, with Basic (any browser), it takes up to thirty seconds even with only three messages in the inbox. Usually there are a lot more. With the new webmail, it takes up to a minute. I don't need that much glitz just to delete or open and read e-mail. In fact, I really, really hate having to wait that long just because someone wants to get fancy. Color me not happy.

[wildfolk]

"PS To the nayayers: I don't give a flying squirrel about squirrel mail. Here you have a chance to give your personal feedback on something newly created and all you can do is complain about how you might have to learn something. Sheesh. Show some gratitude! Sonic developers: please keep in mind that people who are dissatisfied are much more likely to post here than people who are satisfied. The majority of people using the new webmail are probably happy with it."

Fine, you can have it. All we're asking is to keep one or two of the legacy webmail options open for those of us who don't have access to fast, expensive systems. This has nothing to do with learning something, and everything to do with making things difficult, slow, and ungainly for those of us who are busy or poor or both. You want a fancy system with loads and whistles, fine. But don't force it on those of us who don't want it. I've noticed there are a lot of complaints about the same things: The directions are not user-friendly, and the loading is slow. I, for once, will leave if I have to put up with the kind of attitude that says "You must have this system, or else." Fine. There are other providers out there, some of them less expensive.

[wildfolk]

Well said, Rey!

It's not "nayaying" or naysaying to want to be able to read and answer your mail efficiently, without having someone force something cludgy and slow down your throat. I like the basic webmail with the checkboxes, so I can simply pick which e-mails to delete and which to keep or move. I don't need bells and whistles and fancy looking screens to do that, nor do I want it.

If you folks want to improve on the Wundermail, then put all the directions on the page, instead of having us visit the forums in frustration because there are no blasted directions! Everything about Wundermail is counter-intuitive. I don't have time to learn all this stuff! If I want to learn something counter-intuitive in my spare time, I can always do my Greek homework.

[wildfolk]

(9) Can some Sonic.net techie or other helpful soul explain to us lo-tech "regulars" in *non-geeky* language step-by-step how to access the "mail-spool" (or whatever it's called) to delete all the unwanted new messages, preferably in a "toggle-all" one-step and one-click method à la SquirrelMail?

In the new webmail interface, with your inbox open, click the button labeled "Select" at the bottom of the message listing. If you have the preview pane enabled, it will be between the list of messages and the previewed message. This should cause a pull-down menu to appear. One of the menu items is "All." Click that, and every message displayed in your inbox should be simultaneously selected. Control-click to de-select any messages you want to keep and, once you're satisfied that only your unwanted messages are highlighted, hit the delete key on your keyboard. This will shunt all the highlighted messages to your trash folder, where your other mail clients won't have to bother with them.

If you prefer to not have the preview pane taking up space on your screen, on the right-hand side (above the preview pane itself) there is a button that looks like a downward-facing triangle. Click that and the preview pane will collapse to the bottom of the window, freeing up a bunch of space for listing individual messages.

If I do this, will it be permanent, or will I have to do this EVERY FREAKING TIME I open the program? There are some spam e-mails I don't even want to open, because in opening they could infect my system, and at present the "preview box" opens whatever happens to be selected, whether I want it or not.

[a3lim]

At first glance it seems butt ugly but perhaps I'm not used to it.

There doesn't seem to be anyway to get a name from the address book into the Cc: or Bcc: fields. It always goes into To:, though I guess I can cut and paste.

There are To+, Cc+ and Bcc+ buttons at the bottom of the Address Book. After you select the address, choose one option for the filed. It defaults to the To+ if you double click an address.

[a3lim]

Is there a way to keep/import the automatic mail filters from the prior versions? I don't look forward to setting all of them back up for sorting to my many folders.

[wildfolk]

I am hoping that the reason that no one from sonic.net has responded to Guest Ben's plea for a response to his query asking why we cannot keep at least one other application -- hopefully Squirrelmail -- is because you are rethinking this latest move in light of the very unhappy customers from whom you are hearing. jeanieg

For me really it boils down to trying to find a delicate way of saying that Squirrelmail is old and ugly and embarrassing in 2013. We wanted to replace it eight years ago and a small but vocal minority vigorously objected. We conceded, and now we have seven distinct webmail interfaces to maintain and support (Squirrelmail, Nutsmail, four flavors of Atmail, and now Wundermail).

As for rethinking things, we do that almost continuously around here. We requested feedback on the new interface because we want to take your input under consideration.

Okay, then consider it! But don't give us mealymouthed answers about it "not being on the table" and "having to delete them". Those aren't reasonable answers. They're "management speak", and a lot of us become very angry when we get that instead of real reasons. Obviously a lot of people want to continue with Squirrelmail or Atmail or whatever instead of the Wundermail. What's so hard about that? You don't need to keep all of them. People are asking for at least ONE alternative. One alternative is not that difficult to do, especially given the emotional response you are getting from all this. To many of us, Squirrelmail isn't old and ugly. It isn't pretty, but it's efficient, compared to something that slows our mail down to a crawl. Personally, I like the Atmail with the Basic browser, but if it comes down to a choice, I could live with Squirrelmail better than I can Wundermail.

If you really want to see how many people want Squirrelmail or your new beta version, then put it to a vote. Be Democratic, rather than autocratic. People hate being dictated to, especially when something works for them and they don't have the time to learn a whole new system. Really, if you want to keep people happy, leaving at least one of the old timers for the Squirrelmail crowd and letting the high-tech people have the new Beta monster will cause you (and the rest of us!) a lot less grief.

[lr]

My wife doesn't mind the fact that the new one is different from the old one. She's actually used ATmail and Squirrel/Nutmail somewhat interchangeably, and doesn't have a strong preference among those three. She minds that the new one takes much longer to load, and wastes pixels.

The part I really mind is that (for the first time in my memory) Sonic has developed an attitude: The stated reason for the change is that the old web mail applications are not "new enough", which seems to be sufficient to abandon all the old ones. That's in spite of the fact that there are clearly lots of issues with the new one (14 pages in this thread alone, plus several other threads, and many complaints are answered with "you can configure that away"). And then comes the statement from the system architect that the decision to abandon the old web mail interfaces is made, and seems independent of problems with the new one. Sorry, not going to fly. That's what we have a marketplace for.