Failing Forward

I can’t get enough of Gmail.  It rules.

The conversation-based (as opposed to singular message-based) interface approach is a quite simple, yet ingenious tweak that really gives the web app a nice flow.  And, of course, it’s Google technology, so with Gmail, everything is search-able, and you never have to delete anything.  Also, the spam filter has never failed me once.

What could be better than my Gmail address having an interface of this caliber?  Why, having ALL of my email addresses use a similar interface.  And that’s just what Gmail lets you do.  You can use your standard Gmail account as a [POP, SMTP, and/or IMAP] client for up to five (count ‘em, FIVE) additional addresses.

Now, I’ve been using Gmail like this for about six months, and I have to say I’ve been completely satisfied in every way.  Except one.  Every once in a while, I’ll get someone ask me why my name, on mail I’ve sent, appears “On Behalf of Chris Tonkinson.”

Gmail acts as does any other POP or IMAP client – so why should my outgoing mail be thus disorganized and unappealing? It turns out that when you send mail from a different address through your Gmail interface, Google automatically adds your Gmail account to the “sender” field to avoid it looking like spam.  And, in some versions of Microsoft Outlook, this can lead to the interface declaring that you are sending mail on your own behalf.

Perhaps you view this as proper behavior.  Perhaps not.  Either way, it seems annoying that anyone using Outlook should be encumbered by this extra verbiage.

Update: This issue has been addressed.