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Old 9 Aug 2017, 07:49 AM   #1
TenFour
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Pointless labels

I really don't understand the fixation with labels/folders in email. Why bother? It is far faster and easier to just leave everything in the Inbox and use Google search to find what you need. That is the genius of Gmail: enormous storage so you can just keep everything, or almost everything, and then find what you need quickly and efficiently. I have done this for years and never miss labels/folders. I believe some need to use labels/folders to satisfy some deep psychological need for order, but it is really just a waste of your time.

Nobody indexes the entire Web--they use Google. If it is good enough for the Web, it's good enough for my email.
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Old 9 Aug 2017, 06:48 PM   #2
janusz
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TenFour View Post
I really don't understand the fixation with labels/folders in email. Why bother?
By extension, why bother with folders/directories on your hard disc? Why bother giving meaningful names to your files if Google Desktop will always find everything you need in an instant?

Labels are a way of organising information in a desired way, and I don't see them as always being replaceable by searches. There is Google and there are bookmarks/favourites; long this may continue.
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Old 22 Aug 2017, 07:04 AM   #3
TenFour
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Quote:
why bother with folders/directories on your hard disc?
Different scenarios completely, and I find desktop search fails much of the time to find what I am looking for. Plus, you usually don't want to search through system files, program files, old downloads, font files, etc. There is so much extra stuff on your hard disk. But, having said that, I do try to put all my own saved documents, etc., into a single location, labeled by date usually, and use folders very sparingly. I work for someone who is OCD about putting everything into a folder, subfolder, sub-sub-folder, etc. etc. to the point we spend much of every day getting carpal tunnel syndrome clicking away merrily to find things. And then when I think I have filed something in the correct location it turns out I was wrong, according to the boss, so then it becomes completely lost to that person. However, that person's filing system makes no sense to most of the rest of us, who are forced to file things in such a way we can never find them.
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Old 22 Aug 2017, 07:06 AM   #4
TenFour
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Join Date: Feb 2017
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Quote:
why bother with folders/directories on your hard disc?
Different scenarios completely, and I find desktop search fails much of the time to find what I am looking for. Plus, you usually don't want to search through system files, program files, old downloads, font files, etc. There is so much extra stuff on your hard disk. But, having said that, I do try to put all my own saved documents, etc., into a single location, labeled by date usually, and use folders very sparingly. I work for someone who is OCD about putting everything into a folder, subfolder, sub-sub-folder, etc. etc. to the point we spend much of every day getting carpal tunnel syndrome clicking away merrily to find things. And then when I think I have filed something in the correct location it turns out I was wrong, according to the boss, so then it becomes completely lost to that person. However, that person's filing system makes no sense to most of the rest of us, who are forced to file things in such a way we can never find them. Filing systems/needs are quite personal, and what works for one may not work for another, so I understand perfectly that others like to use folders/labels/secret codes/whatever, but I have found it much more productive not to when I am free to use my own systems. Think of your brain--nothing is in folders, but your "search" function can usually retrieve whatever it is you need. Good search is like that.
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