GMail needs "not spam" filter rules
I was setting up my SIGPWNED emails to forward to my GMail accounts. I thought I had the forwards configured properly, but my test emails never came through, so I thought that GMail might be flagging my SIGPWNED messages as spam. To rule out that possibility, I thought I'd install a "not spam" filter to make sure the emails got through the spam filter and into my inbox. Imagine my surprise when I found that GMail defines no such filter type:
To me, this is an obvious oversight. To be fair to Google, GMail has one of the best, most reliable spam filters I've ever experienced. However, I think the ability to control what is not considered spam is critical; when you need it, you need it, and nothing else will do.
GMail needs a couple more filter actions: "Not Spam," and "Spam." Here's a mockup of what the UI should look like:
You listening Google? I'm looking at you.
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Perhaps b/c it's 530 am...
but how is what you want different than going to the spam-box and clicking the "not spam" button?
i also can't think of many scenarios where you'd want to generalize "not spam" rules to allow a certain content set through (for example, the odd case in which you WANT viagra ads to populate your inbox). but like i said, it's 530 and all i can think about it hormonal dysfuction, so what do i know?
...Is hormonal disfunction something you think about often?
The filter approach is different from just clicking the "not spam" button because it's automatic.
I definitely do want to generalize the not-spam rules here. I'm setting up a new host, sigpwned.com, and I want to make sure that all forwards from sigpwned.com get through to my gmail inbox. sigpwned.com is a domain that actually might trigger spam filters, so I'd like to set up a gmail filter that automagically puts all emails from sigpwned.com into my inbox so I can rule out the spam filter as the cause for email forwards not reaching my inbox.
no, not often
but then again i'm in medical school so my definition of often is probably skewed.
here's a summary of a gmail chat andy and I had about this not-spam filter topic.
Me: Gmail does what you want *kicks horse*
Andy: Not the way I think it should *kicks horse*
Me: Gmail does what you want *kicks horse*
Andy: Not the way I think it should *kicks horse*
*horse dies*
Me: Gmail does what you want *kicks dead horse*
Andy: Not the way I think it should *kicks dead horse*
Me: Gmail does what you want *jumps on dead horse*
Andy: Not the way I think it should *drop-kicks dead horse*
Me: Gmail does what you want *beats dead horse with sledgehammer*
Andy: Not the way I think it should *incinerates dead horse with flamethrower*
Me: Let's get married.
I don't remember that last bit...
Medical students have roofies, and I don't remember getting wedding proposal. I think these two facts might be related. But I do find flamethrowers sexy...
Arpit's right. GMail does have a way to make sure that email from a specific address makes it to your inbox. If you add an email address to your contacts list, that user's email goes straight to your inbox. (This method works for only one email, not for a set at a time, but I digress.) But I think using the contacts list to manage spam is not The Right Thing. All rule-based logic for email distribution should reside in one place, namely with filters. Integrating spam logic into the contacts list spreads this distribution logic out. Also, it's not obvious that the contacts list has this power; I never would have thought that I need to add a user to my contacts list to make sure his email reaches my inbox.
I think it's appropriate that the contacts list should have some say on whether a message is spam. That's fine by me. But it should be a heuristic, not the hard mandate it is now.