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Gmail “Goggles” to Prevent Drunken Emails. Seriously.

posted on October 7, 2008


I’m pretty sure this is one idea that started as an April Fool’s joke, but new in Gmail Labs is a filter to prevent you from sending out drunken, late-night or otherwise ill-advised emails.

gmail has mail goggles

When you send an email during your specified time, it prompts you with various mathematical equations which you have to solve before it will send out your email. If you’re too out of it to fire up the calculator, your email will have to wait till another day.

Oh, and the one catch: your math test is timed. Takes me all the way back to third grade.
timed math tests for mail goggles in gmail

By default, the mail goggles kick in late at night on weekends, but you can change the active times once you enable the goggles, if you so desire.

I don’t drink, so you’ll have to tell me: this is rather silly, isn’t it?


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  • http://www.brickmarketing.com Nick Stamoulis

    Oh my Gosh..they’re serious? Ha ha! This is priceless! This would have saved me from a lot of grief 10 years ago!

  • http://www.gadgets4nowt.co.uk/ PS3

    Yes, it is rather silly but engaging at the same time. Sometimes it isn’t bad just to have a bit of fun and hats off to Gmail.

  • http://www.jordankasteler.com/utah-seo-pro-blog/ Utah SEO Pro

    I do math best when I’m drunk.

    Utah SEO Pro’s last blog post..Link Metrics for SEO

  • http://www.quickpwn.com QuickPWN

    I think this is a very useless feature. Gmail must have enabled it by accident. There is still 6 months left till April! :P

    QuickPWN’s last blog post..Install Flash Player iPhone App

  • http://www.zurpit.com Zurpit

    Haha this is a great feature, Im sure it will help alot of people from sending drunk emails but what about the people who can do math while drunk

  • http://www.ariwriter.com Ari Herzog

    As I similarly commented on ReadWriteWeb about this tool, where’s the value in proofing a sent email at 3 a.m. when the recipient may be at her office on the other side of the world?

    Moreover, there is an assumption built-in that everyone works the first or second shift. What about those who work the third shift and routinely send emails when everyone else is asleep in a given time zone?

  • http://www.ultimate-iwealth.com Kok Choon

    This is interesting! As the spam with Gmail accounting is getting more and more popular, we can expect more precautions in place to fight the spam!

    Kok Choon’s last blog post..Blog Talk Radio – Radio Show For All Blogger!

  • http://www.permaculture.co.za Jacques Snyman

    Hahahahah! A filter to help curtail substance abuse social errors! Wow, this is really funny, but definitely appropriate! I think most of us can relate in one way or another!

  • http://freeipodsetc.co.uk iPod Fan

    It’s silly but great fun. It ma be useful for some people who knows!

    It’s not compulsory is it?

    John

    iPod Fan’s last blog post..Earth4Energy

  • http://www.3arn.net/ abdul

    All Google websites are adding a great deal of user interactivity, but could I have ever expected this?

    abdul’s last blog post..How To Get A Good Page Rank?

  • http://www.greatpriceshere.com Nicole Price

    This is hilarious, yet on reflection, quite a useful tool for very impulsive people. I think that I shall give it a whirl!

    Nicole Price’s last blog post..Discount Lingerie

  • Jordan McCollum

    As stated in the article, this is something you have to enable. It’s not a default; that’s what Gmail Labs are for.

    And again, once enabled, you can customize the time it’s set to work.

  • http://www.netage.co.za Goran Web Design

    Lol! I find this hard to believe. But it would do most of us a lot of good, I know that I’ve sent an email while drunk that I wasn’t supposed to.

    Great concept from Google! Hehehe ;-)

  • Casieg

    This is fantastic…If that put this concept on the Google phone I am sold ;)

  • http://goodfreerpggames.blogspot.com/ Paul

    Man you have a great blog here, Jordan! Well done. I keep finding more and more great posts.

    Like you said, if it was on April 1st it would have been a great joke.
    I wonder how many people would really want this feature – I guess it’s fun to try out but it’s not a thing I would ever want.
    cheers,

    Paul’s last blog post..Florensia Free 3D Fantasy MMORPG

  • Jordan McCollum

    Thanks, Paul, but I must defer—this is Andy’s blog; I am just privileged to work here.

  • http://www.saadkamal.com Saad Kamal

    well its a cool feature..but I don’t think a workable one. I mean think about it …When you are actually in the ‘right state of mind’…solving math problems for sending a 1 line reply would be irritating.

    Saad Kamal’s last blog post..Yahoo Web Analytics Beta Launched

  • http://www.amitnyamtabad.com Amit

    This is a really nice feature that these guys have come up. I find it very useful working late nights and sending emails to clients.

    Amit’s last blog post..Google Chrome’s Market share not looking good

  • http://www.gadgets4nowt.co.uk/ PS3

    @Amit – have you missed the point, or does you job/work involve drinking?

  • Pingback: Too much alcohol in your system? Gmail Goggles saves the day , 77Lab

  • http://checkpagerank.ws Check Page Rank

    Lol..they’ve got to be kidding me. What about those with hands prob?

  • http://www.webtlk.com google tricks

    it looks like a joke to me. if somebody is drunk or under the effect of drugs he wont even be able to access his gmail or even turn on its computer…

    google tricks’s last blog post..Change Google Gmail theme with Better Gmail

  • http://thisismyurl.com Christopher Ross

    :) If they have a way to prevent drunk FaceBooking as well, I think they’ll be unstoppable. Thanks Jordan, this post made my day.

    Christopher Ross’s last blog post..Using MAMP and LAMP for WordPress Development

  • http://www.directsaleswebmarketing.com Dennis Edell

    I’ve received a few emails wherein the sender could have really used this feature LOL

    Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Do Advertisers Judge You By Design? What Do You Think…

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