HATE HATE HATE new Yahoo mail
December 7, 2013 11:59 AM Subscribe
I have been using yahoo mail for at least 15 years. I liked it, worked just fine for me. The new format (which only showed up on my desktop; my i-pad's yahoo mail format has not changed) is frustrating, annoying, and not to my liking at all). Is there any way to go back to the old format? What (free) email server is most like the "old" Yahoo mail? I know everyone has their own favorite e-mail provider--what YOU like or YOU are used to. I know that G-Mail is probably the most popular provider these days, but I am not looking to be sold on your personal fave--I just want to know which provider is the most like the OLD yahoo, which is what I personally liked and was used to. I would particularly like to hear from former Yahoo users who switched to something else after this recent change (or, wishful thinking: figured out a way to use the old format). Thanks!
For a while, I had success with changing a variable in Yahoo's 'switch' URL, but that no longer seems to work. I now mostly just use Thunderbird.
posted by jiawen at 12:37 PM on December 7, 2013
posted by jiawen at 12:37 PM on December 7, 2013
"my i-pad's yahoo mail format has not changed"
Yup, so the way I've figured out to use the old format again is to always use my Android smartphone to handle all of my Yahoo email.
Yahoo has gotten a ton of pushback about these changes. I'm sure they'll revert back... um, eventually, right? If this crap is the result of Yahoo’s employees having their telecommuting arrangements revoked, then they should let people start working from home again.
posted by hush at 1:03 PM on December 7, 2013
Yup, so the way I've figured out to use the old format again is to always use my Android smartphone to handle all of my Yahoo email.
Yahoo has gotten a ton of pushback about these changes. I'm sure they'll revert back... um, eventually, right? If this crap is the result of Yahoo’s employees having their telecommuting arrangements revoked, then they should let people start working from home again.
posted by hush at 1:03 PM on December 7, 2013
I feel your pain. there is a toggle in settings under read email that allows you to switch to classic mail, but, typical of yahoo, the change is temporary to this exact session, and you lose access to your contacts.
I too have used yahoo since the 90's, despite my hate over how they destroyed musicmatch, but i have scrapped the mail this time in favor of gmail. i exported all of my contacts this week and am slowly letting folks know. good luck
posted by OHenryPacey at 1:34 PM on December 7, 2013
I too have used yahoo since the 90's, despite my hate over how they destroyed musicmatch, but i have scrapped the mail this time in favor of gmail. i exported all of my contacts this week and am slowly letting folks know. good luck
posted by OHenryPacey at 1:34 PM on December 7, 2013
I agree with you that it's bad. Sometimes I can't even find my way back to the Inbox! And having the Send button at the bottom is just plain stupid from a usability point of view. I would suggest waiting a little while to see if they improve it because I don't you'll find anything that is like the old Yahoo! Mail.
posted by Dansaman at 1:54 PM on December 7, 2013
posted by Dansaman at 1:54 PM on December 7, 2013
Longtime Yahoo user here. I wish I had some advice. It's pretty awful on a number of levels. I am planning on making the switch to Gmail as well.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 2:00 PM on December 7, 2013
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 2:00 PM on December 7, 2013
If you change your user agent on the browser to identify as a mobile browser you might get the version of the site that your tablet does.
posted by COD at 2:24 PM on December 7, 2013
posted by COD at 2:24 PM on December 7, 2013
my i-pad's yahoo mail format has not changed
I, too, utterly despise the new Yahoo email (and can't switch for a variety of reasons) and therefore have been simply using it only on my iphone whenever possible. I'm just waiting until someone there gets fired and they switch it to something halfway useable again. They had been changing it fairly regularly for years before the big awful change, so I don't think it's unrealistic to hope they'll soon change it again. And it can't get much worse, so...
(The new logo is stupid too.)
posted by DestinationUnknown at 2:25 PM on December 7, 2013
I, too, utterly despise the new Yahoo email (and can't switch for a variety of reasons) and therefore have been simply using it only on my iphone whenever possible. I'm just waiting until someone there gets fired and they switch it to something halfway useable again. They had been changing it fairly regularly for years before the big awful change, so I don't think it's unrealistic to hope they'll soon change it again. And it can't get much worse, so...
(The new logo is stupid too.)
posted by DestinationUnknown at 2:25 PM on December 7, 2013
> I, too, utterly despise the new Yahoo email .... I'm just waiting until someone there gets fired and they switch it to something halfway useable again.
Same here. (I'm adding my two cents in case someone at Yahoo comes across this and is counting noses. We hates it!!)
posted by languagehat at 2:37 PM on December 7, 2013
Same here. (I'm adding my two cents in case someone at Yahoo comes across this and is counting noses. We hates it!!)
posted by languagehat at 2:37 PM on December 7, 2013
Best answer: I did this: http://www.cnet.com.au/how-to-switch-back-to-the-old-yahoo-mail-339345685.htm
and it brought back old Yahoo mail.
posted by whistle pig at 3:00 PM on December 7, 2013 [4 favorites]
and it brought back old Yahoo mail.
posted by whistle pig at 3:00 PM on December 7, 2013 [4 favorites]
What bothers you specifically with the new Yahoo? I (largely) switched to gmail but hated the "threading." As it happens, you can turn off that function.
posted by Morrigan at 4:15 PM on December 7, 2013
posted by Morrigan at 4:15 PM on December 7, 2013
There are so many bugs with the new Yahoo Mail! Two weeks ago it was constantly asking me--while I was still typing--if I wanted to "save my draft before closing". They've seemed to have fixed that.
I turned off "conversations", the stupid threading feature. I figured out how to change the subject line (!), the folders on the left side don't overlap anymore... In short, it was a bunch of tweaks I gradually made and patches that (I assume) Yahoo made and now it's fairly usable again although having the formatting and send buttons at the bottom where it is frequently hidden by the Win7 task bar is annoying. Also the "your message has been sent" appears too briefly at the (hidden) bottom.
If you want to keep Yahoo, I would check the Yahoo Answers forum for work-arounds.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:13 PM on December 7, 2013
I turned off "conversations", the stupid threading feature. I figured out how to change the subject line (!), the folders on the left side don't overlap anymore... In short, it was a bunch of tweaks I gradually made and patches that (I assume) Yahoo made and now it's fairly usable again although having the formatting and send buttons at the bottom where it is frequently hidden by the Win7 task bar is annoying. Also the "your message has been sent" appears too briefly at the (hidden) bottom.
If you want to keep Yahoo, I would check the Yahoo Answers forum for work-arounds.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:13 PM on December 7, 2013
I've had numerous webmail accounts for years and have tried them all at one time or another. I am almost embarrassed to say this, but have you tried Microsoft's new outlook.com? It's the best I've ever used. I'm only embarrassed because people must think I'm a real newbie or something. No - it's just really good.
posted by Gerard Sorme at 8:40 PM on December 7, 2013
posted by Gerard Sorme at 8:40 PM on December 7, 2013
Response by poster: twinbrook8....please walk me through turning off " conversations"....I can't find that option. thanks! Also...I see the emoticon tab but wheni select an emoticon it doesn't show up. Has anyone figured this out? Thanks for chiming in everyone, hopefully Yahoo will see these posts.
posted by Lylo at 9:48 PM on December 7, 2013
posted by Lylo at 9:48 PM on December 7, 2013
Response by poster: whistle Pig, Thank you for that link, it kinda works!!!!!!! It is not totally the old Yahoo but damn close. i am playing with it to see how it is different, but it sure feels more comfortable and familiar. YAY! I really appreciate that!
Has anyone tried managing a Yahoo group under the new system? I tried to do an email change for a member of the group I moderate and the only way to do it was to delete the member then invite him to re-join, I could not edit The email address or just add him as a new member as was previously an option.
posted by Lylo at 10:08 PM on December 7, 2013
Has anyone tried managing a Yahoo group under the new system? I tried to do an email change for a member of the group I moderate and the only way to do it was to delete the member then invite him to re-join, I could not edit The email address or just add him as a new member as was previously an option.
posted by Lylo at 10:08 PM on December 7, 2013
Response by poster: Re: Whistle Pig's link....it only lasts for that session, then reverts to NEW YAHOO as soon as you return to mail. Also in composing emails, it will not access your contact list to auto complete the "to" field
posted by Lylo at 10:13 PM on December 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Lylo at 10:13 PM on December 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
I've been stuck with it for many months now. The switch listed is, as you realized, temporary, and it still leaves the new bold horrible font. So I opened an outlook.com account, moved everything over there as storage...and then kept using Yahoo. Outlook.com is great, but I don't care enough. I mostly use email through my iphone mail app, so I barely notice anyway. I am annoyed, I hate it, but I am lazy and apathetic! Changing all my business contacts and personal contacts was just too much work. And now I forget what old yahoo was like.
posted by clone boulevard at 10:38 PM on December 7, 2013
posted by clone boulevard at 10:38 PM on December 7, 2013
« Older Saucesplosion: How do I best clean this hot sauce... | Readings for parents about kids'... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by acidic at 12:08 PM on December 7, 2013