Gmail thinks I’m stupid, so I left

Gmail 觉得我没脑子，所以我离开了

Let me tell you a story. I go to check my email in Gmail’s web UI. I see a few new messages regarding feedback on a project I’m working on. I click through to read one of them and the first thing I’m greeted with is a message summary I didn’t ask for generated by a language model. 让我给你们讲个故事。我打开 Gmail 的网页端查看邮件，看到几条关于我正在进行的项目反馈的新消息。我点开其中一封，映入眼帘的第一件事，就是一段由语言模型生成的、我根本没要求的邮件摘要。

I focus the message box to draft a reply, but there’s already one there. It was also generated by the language model. I delete it, replacing it with my own. Afterward, I go to compose a new message. A colorful animation steals my focus for a second highlighting a new “help me write” button. I ignore it and move on to filling in the recipients and subject line. 我点击回复框准备写回复，结果里面已经预填好了一段文字。那也是语言模型生成的。我删掉它，换成我自己的内容。随后，我准备写一封新邮件。一个色彩鲜艳的动画瞬间吸引了我的注意力，它在强调一个新的“帮我写（Help me write）”按钮。我无视了它，继续填写收件人和主题。

I focus the message body area and underneath my cursor appears the message “Press / for Help me write”. Again, I ignore it and begin writing. A few moments later, I start a new paragraph and pause. There’s a new message under my cursor now: “Tab to improve”. What I’ve written so far isn’t up to Gmail’s standards, it seems. What message are you trying to send? 我将光标移到正文区域，光标下方出现了一行提示：“按 / 使用‘帮我写’功能”。我再次无视它，开始写作。片刻后，我开启了一个新段落并停顿了一下。光标下方又出现了一条新消息：“按 Tab 键进行优化”。看来，我目前写的内容还没达到 Gmail 的标准。你们到底想传达什么信息？

Look, I’m pretty pragmatic when it comes to generative AI features in software. I see very little wrong with including an optional AI writing assistant for those who want it. But when you nag and nag, when you summarize my messages and write my replies without my asking, when you repeatedly interrupt me to beg and plead that I rewrite my drafts, you’re sending the wrong message. 听着，对于软件中的生成式 AI 功能，我其实很务实。如果有人需要，提供一个可选的 AI 写作助手并没有什么错。但当你没完没了地唠叨，在我没要求的情况下擅自总结我的邮件、代写我的回复，并且反复打断我、恳求我重写草稿时，你传达的信息就完全错了。

The message you’re sending is that you think I’m not capable of reading and writing my own emails. That the people I’m exchanging messages with don’t deserve my time and energy. That I’m doing something wrong by not outsourcing my communication skills to a token prediction machine. 你传达的信息是：你认为我没有能力阅读和撰写自己的邮件；你认为与我通信的人不值得我投入时间和精力；你认为我不把沟通技能外包给一个“词元预测机”就是做错了。

I’ve looked into it. Some of these features can be turned off. Others can’t. Or if they can, it means also turning off useful long-standing features like automatic thread categorization. I have very little doubt that this is intentional, that the unsolicited summaries and auto replies are a means of artificially inflating the usage metrics for the language model features. 我研究了一下。其中一些功能可以关闭，但另一些不行。即便能关，也意味着必须同时关闭像“自动会话分类”这样长期以来非常有用的功能。我几乎可以肯定这是故意的，这些未经请求的摘要和自动回复，只是为了人为地提高语言模型功能的使用指标。

I think we’re all used to user-hostile software these days, but this is the first time I’ve experienced software that feels like it’s actively trying to be disrespectful. Sure, I could switch to a different mail client and never see any of these language model features, but my experience these past months has left such a bad taste that all I’m looking for now is a clean break. 我想我们现在都已经习惯了对用户不友好的软件，但这还是我第一次体验到一种感觉是在“主动冒犯”用户的软件。当然，我可以换个邮件客户端，从此再也看不到这些语言模型功能，但过去几个月的经历让我感到非常恶心，我现在只想彻底断绝关系。

A 16 year breakup

一场 16 年的分手

I’ve had my Gmail account for 16 years. It’s by far my oldest internet account that I still use. Or used to use. I’ve already started the long process of moving away. This time I’m doing things the right way by connecting my own domain to a mail host. 我的 Gmail 账号已经用了 16 年。这是我目前仍在使用的最古老的互联网账号。或者说，曾经使用。我已经开始了漫长的迁移过程。这一次，我打算用正确的方式——将我自己的域名连接到邮件托管服务。

I’m currently with Fastmail since they were by far the most popular option when I asked for suggestions on the fediverse. I’m still early on in the trial period, but so far first impressions are great. It seems really flexible, and after connecting multiple domains and setting up a few aliases I’m starting to wish I had tried it sooner. 我目前选择了 Fastmail，因为当我在联邦宇宙（fediverse）征求建议时，它是最受欢迎的选择。我还在试用期初期，但目前的初体验非常棒。它看起来非常灵活，在连接了多个域名并设置了几个别名后，我开始后悔没早点尝试它。

I haven’t settled on whether or not I should import my Gmail data. I’ll almost surely import my contacts, but there’s something nice about starting fresh as far as everything else goes. I’m interested in what other people in a similar position have done. 我还没决定是否要导入 Gmail 的数据。我几乎肯定会导入联系人，但对于其他一切，从零开始的感觉其实也不错。我很想知道处于类似处境的人们是怎么做的。

Congrats to Google, really. They’ve done a decent job at keeping Gmail stable over the many years I’ve used it. Which is why even I am impressed by how quickly they were able to get me to pack up and leave. 真的，恭喜 Google。在我使用 Gmail 的这些年里，他们确实在保持服务稳定性方面做得不错。正因如此，他们能如此迅速地让我收拾行李走人，连我自己都感到震惊。