Alternatives to Fastmail due to interface change? - Page 2

joe_devore · 25 May 2017, 02:53 AM

ooh ok...

pjwalsh · 26 May 2017, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdinwolfPA

The only e-mail provider that comes close to Fastmail is:

luxsci.com

Pricey for individuals. Their least expensive account is 33% more than FastMail's most expensive ($120 vs $90/yr)

joe_devore · 26 May 2017, 02:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjwalsh

Pricey for individuals. Their least expensive account is 33% more than FastMail's most expensive ($120 vs $90/yr)

lol in that case not a chance...
$30 is affordable for me, more then that is not...

Terry · 27 May 2017, 07:19 PM

Man it's got to be worth a $1 a month...

Walter Eagle · 12 Jun 2017, 07:08 PM

Hi

I've been using FastMail for a two or three years, but I've never known anything but the current interface. So I don't have any view on whether this is a retrograde step from what longer terms users previously had. I'm certainly not in the 'power user' category in terms of numbers of mails read and sent each day. I think I've explored whatever customisation is available in Fastmail to get the interface to the best appearance to suit my tastes and requirements. However I'd welcome any comments or advice on issues in this post.

I like Fastmail's commitment to security and privacy, and for this I would accept a trade-off in appearance. However, there are areas where I would love a little extra usability (as I see it), and I can't see that these would compromise either of the key features I mentioned.

I would love to be able to ...

Mail: Have the reading pane as a horizontal pane rather than the vertical as it is now. If anyone can suggest a solution, great. Or any reasons why it would be bad practice to have it horizontal?
Mail: The ability to add folders 'on the fly' by right-click > Add Folder. Rather than leave Mail, go to Settings, create the folder, back to Mail
Calendar: Absolutely would love to be able to search for text in calendar entries. For example, I know I have a regular doctor's appointment later this year, but I can't remember exactly when. I'd like to search for "Doctor".

So, since I want to stick with Fastmail as my mail service provider, does anyone have any experience of using it with non-Fastmail clients like Thunderbird, em Client or others? Do they provide a 'better' interface in anyne's opinion? Any strong recommendations or warnings? All views welcome ...

Thanks and regards

joe_devore · 12 Jun 2017, 08:46 PM

Hmm.. IDK about doing a horizontal pane for the folders THAT would look rather awkward.. its best as it is... vertically aligned... because I have a lot of folders.. which fit perfectly in the left pane.. and I do not need to scroll the screen at all...

BritTim · 12 Jun 2017, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walter Eagle

I would love to be able to ...

Mail: Have the reading pane as a horizontal pane rather than the vertical as it is now. If anyone can suggest a solution, great. Or any reasons why it would be bad practice to have it horizontal?
Mail: The ability to add folders 'on the fly' by right-click > Add Folder. Rather than leave Mail, go to Settings, create the folder, back to Mail
Calendar: Absolutely would love to be able to search for text in calendar entries. For example, I know I have a regular doctor's appointment later this year, but I can't remember exactly when. I'd like to search for "Doctor".

So, since I want to stick with Fastmail as my mail service provider, does anyone have any experience of using it with non-Fastmail clients like Thunderbird, em Client or others? Do they provide a 'better' interface in anyne's opinion? Any strong recommendations or warnings? All views welcome ...

Thanks and regards

Welcome to the forums!

I think all of your ideas have some merit. You might want to create a support ticket where you note that these are improvements that would better your FastMail experience.

I suggest you download Thunderbird and try it. My sense is that it may fit your needs better, with one caveat. On the plus side, my recollection is that you can choose how to configure the reading pane, and you would get the better Mail and Folder integration you are looking for. However, the Calendar support would become completely disconnected from your mail client. I actually do not mind this personally, having become used to working that way long ago, but most want seamless switching between the two.

Walter Eagle · 13 Jun 2017, 03:57 AM

Joe_Devore and BritTim

Thank you both for the prompt responses.

@Joe: It wasn't actually the folders list that I wanted horizontal. I agree - that would look really weird! At present, the list of emails in any given folder (say, Inbox) is presented vertically, and then to the right of it, separated by a vertical bar, is the content of whichever email happens to have focus at that point. This 'list' appears to be referred to in FM Settings as the Reading Pane and we can select to show it or hide it. What I was hoping for was still to have a vertical list, but one that extends across the screen, with the email content displayed on the lower half of the screen under a movable horizontal bar. Apologies for not making my intention clearer. (Having re-read this a couple times I do wonder if I've achieved any improvement!)

@BritTim: I'm not sure of the relationship between this forum and FastMail. I believe the forum is entirely independent but that doesn't prevent a working relationship existing. Rather than have me submit three lonely requests for 'improvement' is there any facility here for polls and voting? I'm sure more experienced and practiced users of FastMail may have more brighter, better ideas. If there were to be, say, an annual poll on what features or changes we might like, could that be delivered to FastMail somehow? Would that carry any more influence with them, being the collected weighted views of a group of interested and involved users?

I'm obviously still learning my way here in expressing views on this forum, so I don't want to revive old issues unnecessarily or go off on a tangent to how the community operates.

Thanks again

Walter

BritTim · 13 Jun 2017, 05:23 AM

In the past, the forums were an appropriate place for recording feature requests. In those days, FastMail employees often participated here. For reasons I will not go into, FastMail no longer see the forums as a useful resource, and have almost entirely ceased their participation.

A senior member of FastMail's staff has suggested support requests as the best way of making them aware of improvements sought by users. (I too find this a bit strange, but can see no reason for not complying.)

Walter Eagle · 28 Jun 2017, 08:20 PM

Update to my three "I'd love to be able to ... " bullet points.

I've just discovered that one of them, the middle one, folders-on-the-fly, is already available, and works even better than I'd expected.

It all comes down to workflow. I was assuming I'd have to start by creating a folder, then move a message to it.

Turns out, if I select one or more messages in my inbox, then do "Move To", I get a drop down list of all the existing folders I've created. Right down at the bottom of the list is a final prompt "Create folder ..." which does exactly what I want at that point in the workflow. My problem was that I already have many folders and sub-folders, so I rarely, if ever, saw the bottom item in the list - it's right off the bottom of the screen. Hence I didn't know to use it.
However the bonus bit is that the very top item in the list is a search field where I can start typing the name of a folder rather than scrolling down through the list. It's a dynamic search on the list that reduces the available folders to match the characters I've typed in. So as soon as I've typed "A", I only see folders that contain a word beginning with "A". Then adding "m" reduces it to words "Am", and so on. That shortens the list rapidly to bring "Create folder ..." in to view. As soon as I've typed a unique set of characters, unused so far in any other folder, the only remaining option is "Create folder ..."

Makes perfect sense now I understand how it's meant to be used. Big thumbs up to Fastmail for that one. Now to search for the other features I wanted - they're probably buried in there somewhere as well. But just not where I expect to find them.

Regards

Walter

Bamb0 · 28 Jun 2017, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BritTim

In the past, the forums were an appropriate place for recording feature requests. In those days, FastMail employees often participated here. For reasons I will not go into, FastMail no longer see the forums as a useful resource, and have almost entirely ceased their participation.

I wonder if they realise the stuff they are doing IS NO GOOD and do not want to deal with it...... Could be I suppose.....

mmerlinn · 29 Jun 2017, 07:47 AM

I feel for all of you.

I have used Fastmail for 13 years. As noted by others here, the interface then was SUPERB. Every reinvention of the wheel has made Fastmail slower and slower to where now I refer to it as SLOWMAIL.

When Classic dies in a few days, I will no longer have a 'fastmail' account. Not my choice. The new interface is so TERRIBLE that I literally CANNOT use it.

Not sure what, if anything, will take it's place since I know of no other email anything like the original Fastmail. I may be stuck with several of the other email accounts that I have that at least still WORK, though nothing like Fastmail used to work.

Of course, the email universe is getting more limited. Even my myway account will vanish in a few months, joining hotmail, lycos, and several other email accounts that I have had over the years.

mballas · 29 Jun 2017, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmerlinn

I feel for all of you.

I have used Fastmail for 13 years. As noted by others here, the interface then was SUPERB. Every reinvention of the wheel has made Fastmail slower and slower to where now I refer to it as SLOWMAIL.

I have used FM since 2001. I don't know what system you are using, but the current default interface has been faster than the classic on my computer since it was first introduced, and it automatically displays the newest e-mail which classic NEVER did.

Bamb0 · 29 Jun 2017, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmerlinn

When Classic dies in a few days, I will no longer have a 'fastmail' account. Not my choice. The new interface is so TERRIBLE that I literally CANNOT use it.

I cant even use it even if I wanted to test it........ I dont care..... I dont like stuff getting worse..... I wouldnt use it even if I could!!!

PON · 29 Jun 2017, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mballas

the current default interface has been faster than the classic on my computer since it was first introduced, and it automatically displays the newest e-mail which classic NEVER did.

My experience:

The current interface is slower, in particular when you hit reply on a message with one or more attachments, and I have had frequent instances of it hanging when I hit SEND. Showing new mail automatically isn't that big a deal. For most of the last 15 years we had a superb 3rd party notification tool, FastCheck, that hasn't been surpassed in my opinion; currently I use a gmail (IMAP) notifier (with Fastmail), and also different sounds for different accounts/folder on my phone.

I've traveled in places with limited connectivity a good deal over the time I've been using Fastmail and have a good idea what works and what doesn't. The Classic UI was usable when nothing else would load. The new one isn't close and it has bugs in it.

12 Jun 2017, 07:08 PM	#20
Walter Eagle Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 15	Hi I've been using FastMail for a two or three years, but I've never known anything but the current interface. So I don't have any view on whether this is a retrograde step from what longer terms users previously had. I'm certainly not in the 'power user' category in terms of numbers of mails read and sent each day. I think I've explored whatever customisation is available in Fastmail to get the interface to the best appearance to suit my tastes and requirements. However I'd welcome any comments or advice on issues in this post. I like Fastmail's commitment to security and privacy, and for this I would accept a trade-off in appearance. However, there are areas where I would love a little extra usability (as I see it), and I can't see that these would compromise either of the key features I mentioned. I would love to be able to ... Mail: Have the reading pane as a horizontal pane rather than the vertical as it is now. If anyone can suggest a solution, great. Or any reasons why it would be bad practice to have it horizontal? Mail: The ability to add folders 'on the fly' by right-click > Add Folder. Rather than leave Mail, go to Settings, create the folder, back to Mail Calendar: Absolutely would love to be able to search for text in calendar entries. For example, I know I have a regular doctor's appointment later this year, but I can't remember exactly when. I'd like to search for "Doctor". So, since I want to stick with Fastmail as my mail service provider, does anyone have any experience of using it with non-Fastmail clients like Thunderbird, em Client or others? Do they provide a 'better' interface in anyne's opinion? Any strong recommendations or warnings? All views welcome ... Thanks and regards

25 May 2017, 02:53 AM	#16
joe_devore Essential Contributor Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Dover, NH, USA Posts: 315	ooh ok...

27 May 2017, 07:19 PM	#19
Terry The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: VK4 Posts: 3,013	Man it's got to be worth a $1 a month...

12 Jun 2017, 08:46 PM	#21
joe_devore Essential Contributor Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Dover, NH, USA Posts: 315	Hmm.. IDK about doing a horizontal pane for the folders THAT would look rather awkward.. its best as it is... vertically aligned... because I have a lot of folders.. which fit perfectly in the left pane.. and I do not need to scroll the screen at all...

13 Jun 2017, 03:57 AM	#23
Walter Eagle Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 15	Joe_Devore and BritTim Thank you both for the prompt responses. @Joe: It wasn't actually the folders list that I wanted horizontal. I agree - that would look really weird! At present, the list of emails in any given folder (say, Inbox) is presented vertically, and then to the right of it, separated by a vertical bar, is the content of whichever email happens to have focus at that point. This 'list' appears to be referred to in FM Settings as the Reading Pane and we can select to show it or hide it. What I was hoping for was still to have a vertical list, but one that extends across the screen, with the email content displayed on the lower half of the screen under a movable horizontal bar. Apologies for not making my intention clearer. (Having re-read this a couple times I do wonder if I've achieved any improvement!) @BritTim: I'm not sure of the relationship between this forum and FastMail. I believe the forum is entirely independent but that doesn't prevent a working relationship existing. Rather than have me submit three lonely requests for 'improvement' is there any facility here for polls and voting? I'm sure more experienced and practiced users of FastMail may have more brighter, better ideas. If there were to be, say, an annual poll on what features or changes we might like, could that be delivered to FastMail somehow? Would that carry any more influence with them, being the collected weighted views of a group of interested and involved users? I'm obviously still learning my way here in expressing views on this forum, so I don't want to revive old issues unnecessarily or go off on a tangent to how the community operates. Thanks again Walter

13 Jun 2017, 05:23 AM	#24
BritTim The "e" in e-mail Join Date: May 2003 Location: mostly in Thailand Posts: 3,090	In the past, the forums were an appropriate place for recording feature requests. In those days, FastMail employees often participated here. For reasons I will not go into, FastMail no longer see the forums as a useful resource, and have almost entirely ceased their participation. A senior member of FastMail's staff has suggested support requests as the best way of making them aware of improvements sought by users. (I too find this a bit strange, but can see no reason for not complying.)

28 Jun 2017, 08:20 PM	#25
Walter Eagle Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 15	Update to my three "I'd love to be able to ... " bullet points. I've just discovered that one of them, the middle one, folders-on-the-fly, is already available, and works even better than I'd expected. It all comes down to workflow. I was assuming I'd have to start by creating a folder, then move a message to it. Turns out, if I select one or more messages in my inbox, then do "Move To", I get a drop down list of all the existing folders I've created. Right down at the bottom of the list is a final prompt "Create folder ..." which does exactly what I want at that point in the workflow. My problem was that I already have many folders and sub-folders, so I rarely, if ever, saw the bottom item in the list - it's right off the bottom of the screen. Hence I didn't know to use it. However the bonus bit is that the very top item in the list is a search field where I can start typing the name of a folder rather than scrolling down through the list. It's a dynamic search on the list that reduces the available folders to match the characters I've typed in. So as soon as I've typed "A", I only see folders that contain a word beginning with "A". Then adding "m" reduces it to words "Am", and so on. That shortens the list rapidly to bring "Create folder ..." in to view. As soon as I've typed a unique set of characters, unused so far in any other folder, the only remaining option is "Create folder ..." Makes perfect sense now I understand how it's meant to be used. Big thumbs up to Fastmail for that one. Now to search for the other features I wanted - they're probably buried in there somewhere as well. But just not where I expect to find them. Regards Walter

29 Jun 2017, 07:47 AM	#27
mmerlinn Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 14	I feel for all of you. I have used Fastmail for 13 years. As noted by others here, the interface then was SUPERB. Every reinvention of the wheel has made Fastmail slower and slower to where now I refer to it as SLOWMAIL. When Classic dies in a few days, I will no longer have a 'fastmail' account. Not my choice. The new interface is so TERRIBLE that I literally CANNOT use it. Not sure what, if anything, will take it's place since I know of no other email anything like the original Fastmail. I may be stuck with several of the other email accounts that I have that at least still WORK, though nothing like Fastmail used to work. Of course, the email universe is getting more limited. Even my myway account will vanish in a few months, joining hotmail, lycos, and several other email accounts that I have had over the years.