Gmail, limited resources and performance

[dapgo]

Operating system: Windows7
Browser version:33.5.0
32-bit or 64-bit browser?:32bits
Problem URL:mail.google.com/mail/
Installed add-ons:Priv8

Since some time, I am noticing a very poor performance on Palemoon when gmail is loaded, and maybe this behaviour is normal for bad web design with an extensive usage of resources.

In fact, this laptop is an old core2duo with 4GB, and i PM is much more responsive using the same profile on a windows10.

As a workaround I am using r3dfox for gmail and other modern pages and PM others.

IS there any parameter URL to use Gmail in HTML or a more compatible way?
Any configuration or useragent to improve GMAIL on PM?

[moonbat]

Just use it with IMAP on a proper email client. I haven't bothered with webmail for years; I use both Gmail and Yahoo over IMAP. The usual caveat of Google owned sites working best with Google made browser engines holds well in this case.

[Pentium4User]

Core 2 Duo is more than 15 years old, Google doesn't care about its performance anymore.

Use IMAP/SMTP with Thunderbird, Epyrus, Claws Mail etc.

[marigold]

Gmail did have something called Basic HTML view. Don't know if it has deprecated that as I no longer use Gmail. According to this old article - How to Use Gmail in Basic HTML Mode
to change Gmail to HTML Basic View:

1. Open the browser and go to Gmail.com and log in as usual.
2. After you’re logged into Gmail, open this link to load Basic HTML Gmail: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/
3. Look at the top of the screen and choose “Set basic HTML as default view” to always load Gmail as Basic HTML in the current web browser

If the above doesn't work, according to this article - How to restore Basic HTML View on Gmail - you should try one of these links (after logging into Gmail):

• http://mail.google.com/mail?nocheckbrowser This link bypasses the browser check when you open the Gmail website, so that the standard version of the interface is displayed to you regardless of whether your browser is deemed compatible or not.
• https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=html&zy=h This link will open the Basic HTML View interface automatically on Gmail, again regardless of browser that you are using. If you follow it, a notification is displayed at the top allowing you to set basic HTML as the default view mode on Gmail.

Let us know if it works.


(Consider switching from Gmail to Vivaldi Mail - it's a European alternate, free, feature-rich, and most importantly respects your privacy unlike Google. Google will continue to degrade Gmail on other browsers. Since both Gmail and Vivaldi provide IMAP, which allows you to download email, you can use that to migrate and move all your old emails from Gmail to Vivaldi Mail).

[dapgo]

Just use it with IMAP on a proper email client. I haven't bothered with webmail for years; I use both Gmail and Yahoo over IMAP. The usual caveat of Google owned sites working best with Google made browser engines holds well in this case.

Using client apps is great for your daily driver PC/OS, but when you use several computers web is very convenient.

It is shame a a big/rich company has not 2, 3 or 4 views of its service, other companies has telegram offers it webservice in compatible and modern view.

[moonbat]

It is shame a a big/rich company has not 2, 3 or 4 views of its service, other companies has telegram offers it webservice in compatible and modern view.

It's how they got rich, by pushing only one browser with the features they want to push that aid their data gathering goals rather than what users wanted or liked.

[dapgo]

Gmail did have something called Basic HTML view. Don't know if it has deprecated that as I no longer use Gmail. According to this old article - How to Use Gmail in Basic HTML Mode
to change Gmail to HTML Basic View:

1. Open the browser and go to Gmail.com and log in as usual.
2. After you’re logged into Gmail, open this link to load Basic HTML Gmail: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/
3. Look at the top of the screen and choose “Set basic HTML as default view” to always load Gmail as Basic HTML in the current web browser

If the above doesn't work, according to this article - How to restore Basic HTML View on Gmail - you should try one of these links (after logging into Gmail):

• http://mail.google.com/mail?nocheckbrowser This link bypasses the browser check when you open the Gmail website, so that the standard version of the interface is displayed to you regardless of whether your browser is deemed compatible or not.
• https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=html&zy=h This link will open the Basic HTML View interface automatically on Gmail, again regardless of browser that you are using. If you follow it, a notification is displayed at the top allowing you to set basic HTML as the default view mode on Gmail.

Let us know if it works.


(Consider switching from Gmail to Vivaldi Mail - it's a European alternate, free, feature-rich, and most importantly respects your privacy unlike Google. Google will continue to degrade Gmail on other browsers. Since both Gmail and Vivaldi provide IMAP, which allows you to download email, you can use that to migrate and move all your old emails from Gmail to Vivaldi Mail).

This info seems deprecated, the article is from 2013.
but this one from ghacks unfortunately is correct,
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/24/google-is-killing-gmails-basic-html-view-in-early-2024/

And it is quite bad new for PM, as it is probably the lightweight and faster browser for legacy computers

[back2themoon]

Using client apps is great for your daily driver PC/OS, but when you use several computers web is very convenient.

You could use portable versions of email clients, if you don't want or can't install them.

I only use Web to create and manage filters. It's better there, since they will apply to all clients avoiding confusion. I guess I could apply the same filters to the clients, but it feels more right to deal with this at the "source", avoiding possible client quirks.

[suzyne]

(Consider switching from Gmail to Vivaldi Mail

I do think that Vivaldi is doing some interesting stuff, but for email I would like to the option of a paid account for peace of mind. When a service is free, I feel uneasy if it is something that I want to rely on.

Vivaldi don't offer paid email accounts, and there is this blog (about restrictions and requirements if you want to use webmail, which I always do) from them that also makes me wonder about their sustainability?

https://vivaldi.com/blog/community/two- ... -accounts/

I don't think Vivaldi is a serious alternative to a service like Gmail.

[Bilbo47]

I use Web to create and manage filters. ... they apply to all clients

Does this really work? In my experience, filters in webmail are applied only at read-time, and not when the GUI is not active. Thus my webmail filters do not apply to messages handled by clients. My client filters are defined to apply at download/sync time. What we wish for is a server-side process that will perform filtering at whatever time is necessary so that no clients define any filters. Maybe the feature is particular to your webmail provider?

[back2themoon]

Of course it works! It wouldn't make sense having to stay in front of the Web UI for incoming email filters to apply themselves, right?

I'm taking about standard Gmail and Yahoo filters here, mostly "apply X label" ("label" translates to a folder, in an email client), treat x sender as Junk/not Junk etc. All of these apply before messages "arrive" to any client because, well, the first one to receive any messages anyway would be the service provider.

[back2themoon]

All of the above applies to IMAP. Can't say about POP3, so I asked you-know-who:

Do webmail message filters in services like Gmail and Yahoo, apply to both IMAP and POP3?

Yes, webmail message filters in services like Gmail and Yahoo generally apply to both IMAP and POP3, but their behavior can vary depending on how the filtering rules are configured and how the protocols are used.
Key Points:

Webmail Filters:
Filters set up in the webmail interface (e.g., Gmail or Yahoo) are applied on the server side. This means that the filters are processed before the messages are accessed by any email client using IMAP or POP3.

IMAP:
IMAP syncs messages and folders between the server and your email client. Any changes made by the server-side filters (such as moving a message to a specific folder, marking it as read, or applying labels) will be reflected in your email client when you access it via IMAP.

POP3:
POP3 downloads messages from the server to the client and typically does not maintain folder structures or labels.
Filters that move messages to folders other than the inbox may prevent those messages from being downloaded via POP3, as POP3 usually accesses only the inbox.

Examples:

Gmail:
Filters can label or archive messages. If a message is archived (removed from the inbox) by a filter, it won't be downloaded via POP3 because POP3 only accesses the inbox. However, IMAP will still show the message in its assigned label (folder).
Yahoo Mail:
Similar behavior: messages filtered into folders other than the inbox may not be accessible via POP3, but they are available via IMAP.

Summary:

If you're using IMAP, server-side filters will seamlessly apply, and you'll see all filtered messages as they appear in the webmail interface. With POP3, only messages in the inbox are typically downloaded, so filters that move messages out of the inbox can affect what you see in your email client.

[Moonchild]

so I asked you-know-who:

And relying on ChatGPT to have and spew out any factually correct knowledge is what has gotten MANY people in trouble. Just don't. ChatGPT is an LLM and has no factual understanding of or knowledge of anything. If you ask it about anything needing objective knowledge, you may get a good and true answer, or you may not. Do not rely on it as a knowledge base.

[frostknight]

Core 2 Duo is more than 15 years old, Google doesn't care about its performance anymore.

They cannot push as many ads on such hardware and still have it functional. Of course they don't care about it.

Another reason to resist Google.

[BenFenner]

Use... ...[POP3/]SMTP with Thunderbird, Epyrus, Claws Mail etc.

This would be my suggestion as well. Can't fathom trying to use a web client for e-mail.

If switching e-mail providers is in the cards, I'd highly suggest Fastmail, or possibly Proton Mail as alternatives.

[moonbat]

All of the above applies to IMAP. Can't say about POP3, so I asked you-know-who

The difference between POP and IMAP is that the latter supports only downloading headers so you can choose what emails to download and view. POP simply moves all mail from the remote server to your local inbox by default unless you instruct it to only copy them. I was using Mailwasher to filter out spam on my POP accounts about 25 years ago; it worked as a POP proxy that would filter and delete spam mails before passing them onto my mail client.
Back in the day, Yahoo offered free POP access initially before turning it into a premium feature; there was YahooPOPs which would scrape the webmail and run a local POP proxy for your mail client. Later GMail changed the game with free IMAP for all and Yahoo had to follow suit.

[back2themoon]

ChatGPT is an LLM and has no factual understanding of or knowledge of anything... ...Do not rely on it as a knowledge base.

Noted. I do usually double-check, especially on important stuff. I admit however, that its immediate "understanding" of questions and concise, cozy answers have won me over. Still using DDG frequently though (for Pale Moon-support, too).

POP simply moves all mail from the remote server to your local inbox by default unless you instruct it to only copy them.

So, is it safe to assume that if you want all of your folders available in your email client(s), POP3 is not up to it?

I'm talking about both default, non-Inbox folders like Spam/Sent, and any possible custom, user-created folders.

[moonbat]

So, is it safe to assume that if you want all of your folders available in your email client(s), POP3 is not up to it?

Correct. IMAP is what enables folders in the first place, POP3 accounts don't have any way to implement those. You can select what folders to sync and map local folders to their equivalents on the server for trash or spam for eg.

[marigold]

... but for email I would like to the option of a paid account for peace of mind ... Vivaldi don't offer paid email accounts ... that also makes me wonder about their sustainability? I don't think Vivaldi is a serious alternative to a service like Gmail.

Since I am an old user (10+ years now on Vivaldi Mail), I wasn't aware of the recent restrictions on getting a new Vivaldi mail account. That's definitely a bummer. I've found the service to be quite reliable. But yes, a good paid service can offer you a better peace of mind. For paid email services, I recommend FastMail, an Australian company, as it is a very reliable and capable email service provider (that I have also used in the past). RackSpace Email Hosting and Zoho Email (has free email option too) are also decent paid services (though RackSpace can be a bit "Enterprisey" as they target big business).

This info seems deprecated, the article is from 2013 ... And it is quite bad new for PM, as it is probably the lightweight and faster browser for legacy computers

If Google is deprecating HTML view, that does suck. The only alternate then is for someone to build a PaleMoon browser extension for Gmail.

[frostknight]

If switching e-mail providers is in the cards, I'd highly suggest Fastmail, or possibly Proton Mail as alternatives.

If you need imap, disroot.

If you don't need imap, protonmail.

I have a mobile device and after frustration with gmail, I switched to protonmail.

And I primarily use that to communicate with my other emails if needed.

Actually edit: disroot or protonmail are both good if not imap.