have any of you chosen an email for its look?

[webecedarian]

I've tried a lot of emails over the years - these days looking for free ones that don't require phone verification, preferably no verification at all - but I keep coming back to Hotmail. Maybe it's because it was my first venture, and I just became used to it. But even though it often infuriates me, when I try others, they have composition boxes that are too small, or indecipherable symbols that leave me puzzled about where to click, or poorly ordered icons.

I know that people here, evaluating emails, talk more about capacity: What can it do? How much storage does it have? What options does it offer?

Does anyone else get hung up on basic appearance, convenience, and clarity?

[Berenburger]

Hotmail is just an email address. What kind of client are you talking about? Outlook.com? Office365? Microsoft Mail?

[Bamb0]

I look for basic interfaces that dont require scripts as they usually work on ANY BROWSER

[TenFour]

I like the simplicity of Gmail both on the web and the Android app. Very clean interface. Plus I love the prominent search box right up top that I use on a daily basis to find stuff. No need to put things into folders (though I do use a few labels). Search is just faster to find things and saves so much time up front.

[chrisretusn]

As I think about this, perhaps I have. Not with web based email, but with email clients. Four of them that immediately come to mind are Pegasus, PMMail, Pocomail and my current client Claws Mail. All are similar in their layout. Most of the appeal is functionality with filtering as the most important.

I use the Android Apps, Gmail, Yahoo Mail and Outlook Mail in like to least liked order.

Can't really comment on web based as I do not use it very often.

[TenFour]

In general, I think all email apps suffer from feature creep. They start out somewhat basic, and then gradually over the years add more and more features that require new icons, buttons, settings, etc. Eventually, the interface becomes cluttered with lots of stuff you may or may not use on a daily basis. In my ideal world we would be able to turn on or turn off these features and their controls, allowing us to cater the interface to our own needs. However, the creators of these apps want everyone to use all the features so they keep larding them on and sticking them someplace they hope we will notice, which can often make the basic features harder to locate and use. Other app categories suffer from this too. One of the worst is Microsoft Word that has so many features organized in so many different ways that it is often difficult to find the ones you actually want to use, yet 90% of the features are not ones any ordinary person needs on a daily basis.

[rscaramelo]

Yes. I try to balance how it looks versus how it works. I am always going back to gmail because it works well but I hate how it looks. I want to use hotmail/outlook/live/msn but it doesn't work for me. I use my own domain with multiple alias' and they don't offer that. I love how it looks however. I am always trying new services but am never happy.

[TenFour]

If you hate how Gmail looks try a different theme (Settings/Themes). I use a couple of different themes for two different accounts so I know at a glance which one I am looking at.

[truemagic]

This is an interesting question!

Similar for me, I was enthusiatics about email (especially its domain name) for more than 20 years and to me it's still a neverending search for the best one

THe search for the best one usually lead me to disappointment. Let's be honest, email looks like it made a comeback in recent years, which is not a bad thing at all! The new and shiny email providers are often too new and they all focus on the catchy features first, leaving the very basic things behind, that of course won't be the first things you notice upon signing up and using it, however it becomes apparent when you use it for longer time and it finally ends up in frustration (at least to me).

So now I *tried* to go back to the very basics, of using a 3rd party client connecting to my email via IMAP, reducing the reliance on the email web client, it's like a breath of fresh air. And that's no denying that I might even go back to Gmail or Hotmail, purely because it's so adequate and fully functional, at a unbeatable "price"

[dryoldlime]

Originally Posted by webecedarian

I've tried a lot of emails over the years - these days looking for free ones that don't require phone verification, preferably no verification at all - but I keep coming back to Hotmail. Maybe it's because it was my first venture, and I just became used to it. But even though it often infuriates me, when I try others, they have composition boxes that are too small, or indecipherable symbols that leave me puzzled about where to click, or poorly ordered icons.

I know that people here, evaluating emails, talk more about capacity: What can it do? How much storage does it have? What options does it offer?

Does anyone else get hung up on basic appearance, convenience, and clarity?

Not so much people would get 'hung-up' on appearance, but if the way to interface is arranged is important to you, then choose the way you want. Good thing you tried several other email services to see how you are with them.

[dryoldlime]

Originally Posted by rscaramelo

Yes. I try to balance how it looks versus how it works. I am always going back to gmail because it works well but I hate how it looks. I want to use hotmail/outlook/live/msn but it doesn't work for me. I use my own domain with multiple alias' and they don't offer that. I love how it looks however. I am always trying new services but am never happy.

One (good) reason to test in several email services is to find how they are to use, how they are organized, where to find the features or ?commands you want, and how it looks can be part of this. I have yes tested some too. Some I like and some I was a little uncomfortable using.