Why can't I turn off conversation threading in gmail; it's fatal for my business!

It's true, there are numerous contexts where threading is a hindrance not a help. Since emails that share the same subject line are grouped, it is far too easy to miss messages that are unrelated.

For instance, there have been times in the past when I've sent many customers an update message or have used the same subject line generically ("Hello from Thor!"). Every reply becomes part of the thread even though the subject matter ranges all over the place. Visually it is a lot easier to miss messages when they're buried in a busy thread. I have often missed important messages because of this.

In short, it would be nice to be able to turn off threading. But what Adam says is true, we can always work around the feature by using a desktop (or mobile) client that doesn't maintain the threading. The IMAP feature is awesome from what I've seen.

Why not assign a SID when communicating with a client!

Adam, I would say it would be useful to get Gmail to work as a CRM SID as an optional functionaality by user request.

This will be a great contribution to bring Gmail as a business solution.

So maybe a check box when replying an email with two selective options to process by topic or by sid.

It would be extremly easy to implement without major modifications of the platform. Just set a limit of carachters to thread a topic and the sid becomes the topic!

"Visually it is a lot easier to miss messages when they're buried in a busy thread. I have often missed important messages because of this..."

I'm afraid I just learned that I missed several important emails over the past three days. I am new to Gmail, and I'm surprised that we can't view messages in a more traditional format.

I would prefer not to use another email client, as I use several different machines throughout the day here at the high school where I work, many of which do not allow downloading and installation of email clients due to network restrictions designed to thwart student-initiated damage.

Am I missing something obvious within Gmail that would alert me that a new response has been received in an existing conversation? I only found the missed responses by clicking into each one of my previously read messages and looking for new responses.

I've had this happen numerous times, though I've definitely become sensitized over the years to the interface cues. Basically when there's a new response the thread jumps to the top of your inbox and regains its bold "unread" status. If it's a long thread the previous messages will be collapsed so that the most recent message isn't pushed down too far, but otherwise you do need to scroll down.

I've found this problem is the worst when there are a tremendous number of replies, and the replies have little to do with each other. It's also a problem when the subject line is generic.

I'm so new to Gmail, that I hadn't quite registered the visual cues (boldface, etc.) Thank you for the tip.

I was bewildered to discover that one of my "missed" responses was actually three separate replies to my one original message. In my previous email environments, these three separate replies would appear as three separate messages at the top of my Inbox. Not so in Gmail, I guess.

Thank you again.

I've had this problem too. I used the account for conference registration and we just lost track of what messages we received or moved on to another account. For some reason I never found out, one submission didn't show up at all, although we found it afterwards when searching for the name. We missed 2-3 submissions because of the thread system, and had to do extend the review process with 2 weeks. I think the conversation system only works for very specific contexts, and it should not be the only interface or even the default one.

I've got this problem as well!

Why can't I just choose "unthread conversation" as an option in Gmail? Now I gotta install ANOTHER client on my PC, JUST so I don't have to have email threads? Ugh!

Gmail does SO much, how difficult would it be for the developers to enable users to "turn off" this feature, as opposed to driving us to add MORE software to our already bloated PC's? (Which I cannot do at my job, since I'm not allowed to install software on their machines.) I thought that Google was all about web functionality???

Conversation threading is an essential feature of Gmail, and most of the time I love it.

The one time it's completely unworkable is when I want to delete / label specific messages within a thread. Since I like to populate my to-do list from Gmail tags, it's helpful to see the specific email with action item tagged, rather than the entire conversation thread.

I just don't understand why Google has to be such a Nazi about it. Is it their way or the highway? I too have lost emails because of this. I have been to their headquarters. Maybe because it looks like they are all treated like little children with primary colors and lets decorate our desks...etc. that the engineers feel the need to treat us as children. What is with this "how does it make you feel?" what am I 6 years old?

I have had enough of Google mail, this forced conversation thread thing has driven me to Yahoo!, and it looks fantastic! I dont know why I did not do it sooner, perhaps because google is my default search engine, but now I will move mail completely to Yahoo and use googlemail as a backup.

Try Yahoo, it works as I would want/expect.

Cheers,
Mark.

I agree Mark. I started the thread about this problem but I finally snapped and went to Yahoo also. Yahoo is far superior for this reason alone but I also like their folder system. Whew.

If you want speed and searchability then Gmail is far superior. The fast, comprehensive search mostly makes folders/labels unnecessary for my fast-paced life. I know many people like the Outlook foldered approach, which Yahoo Mail emulates well, but I do love my Gmail.

This converstation threading is absolutely diabolical. I live in constant fear of replying to the wrong people, missing a response to an email (as it lumps 200 responses from 1 group email into the same thread), missing a hardware failure notification etc.
I find it totally unmanageable, even after 6 months of persevering with it. The old standard interface is 1 million times better for me.

Hi Cupcake, yeah, its awful, so change to Yahoo Mail, I did and get my gmail forwarded there. It has folders, filters etc... Ive changed to Yahoo Mail pro, only $20 a year and worth it...

Yes, I have had it with google threading. It makes you miss emails. Reply to the wrong people. I have waited paitently for google to make it an option (2 years!). It is obvious that they think it is a plus. Most people don't know how to complain about it!

I get complaints everyday, and there is always astonishment when I have to say there is no-way to disable the feature.

Onward to test Yahoo.
rlt.
comeandget.us

Sometimes, I just need to exchange a piece of information with a colleague for a later date/time.

Perhaps I'm just not with it...
I don't need every single message to become an episode in a soap opera.

Perhaps they should rename it D-mail for "Drama"

Like so many I also feel that the compulsory conversation threading is more of a headache than a blessing. Perhaps if it could optionally be used on a per-subject basis or something along those lines it might be helpful on occasion. The only other option from the GMail side of things is to use the GMail filtering or "tagging" feature. However this still needs much development as it is largely unsatisfactory in it's functionality. The best option that I have found at this point is to use a third-party email program such as Outlook or Thunderbird. I had abandoned Thunderbird awhile back, but recently revisited Thunderbird when I was looking at paying another hundred-something-dollars for outlook when I bought a new computer. Thunderbird has come a long way in it's functionality and at this point I don't think I will have to look at a different email program ever again. Anywho ... back to the subject at hand. Utilizing a third-party email program to access GMail gives you maximum control over your email and bypasses the compulsory GMail conversation threading.