Compiling contacts by label in Gmail?

January 28, 2006 11:31 AM

I dutifully label "conversations" in Gmail, and would now like to e-mail everyone with whom I've ever corresponded with on one such labeled topic. Is there any way to automatically generate a huge cc/bcc list from all the conversations under a label?
posted by pzarquon to computers & internet (6 comments total)

click 'contacts' --> 'all contacts' --> scroll down --> select 'all' --> click compose.

i think that should work...
posted by tnai at 11:46 AM on January 28, 2006

actually, sorry i missread the bit about only emailing people from a specific label. no i don't think that is possible.

i'll shut up now and go away...
posted by tnai at 11:48 AM on January 28, 2006

If you know JavaScript, GreaseMonkey would be ideal for this kind of thing.
posted by matthewr at 11:54 AM on January 28, 2006

Gmail now has groups:

Contacts --> Groups link (at top of Groups "frame") You will, of course, have to first set up your Groups.
posted by paulsc at 2:58 PM on January 28, 2006

I tried searching the Contacts for label:MyLabelHere and it did not work. I think that this would be a great feature to suggest to Gmail. They seem to be adding stuff all the time.
posted by MrZero at 2:59 PM on January 28, 2006

I wasn't being facietious up thread with my "set up your Groups." comment, but on reflection, leaving it there is kind of cryptic. Let me expand.

I doubt the Gmail folks are going to be in a rush to implement such a "feature," because it's a great way to facilitate address harvesting for spammers; in fact, there is already a loose provision in the Gmail Program Policies ("Prohibited Actions" section) against such a use as you contemplate:

" In addition to (and/or as some examples of) the violations described in Section 3 of the Terms of Use, users may not:

Generate or facilitate unsolicited commercial email ("spam"). Such activity includes, but is not limited to

...selling, exchanging or distributing to a third party the email addresses of any person without such person's knowing and continued consent to such disclosure"

Of course, your anticipated use may not be commercial, but sending email addresses of people to other people without the express permission of all those whose email addresses will be involved is borderline behavior, especially in a simple cc list. Bcc is a little better, because, in theory, the servers should explode the Bcc without passing all the addresses to end users, but there are lots of mis-configured mail servers out there, and Bcc hasn't been even a semi-secure mechanism since 1992.

Thus my comment about setting up your Groups. At a minimum, this would entail some kind of invitation/authorization to each of those you plan to mail that you'd like to include them in a private group to whom you'd be sending something you believe will be of interest to them, and of general interest to the group. Then, you honor the wishes of those who respond positively, and leave out those who don't respond, or respond negatively.
posted by paulsc at 6:05 PM on January 28, 2006