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Before You Hit Send...

Most of us have had the misfortune of sending out a regrettable email. You know, the ones you write at 2am - the time when id seems to overtake super-ego. We've all had that experience of hitting "send," and seconds later feeling angst over what the person on the other end will really think. "Was that a bit too strong?" "Did I reveal too much of myself?" "Will this email mark the end of a relationship?" Or, worst of all, "What will this client think?"

Well, Gmail may have come up with a solution for those of us who cannot keep our late-night impulses in check. While their solution will not, with 100% certainty, prevent regrettable emails from going out, it may cause some of us to stop, clear our heads, and think about what we have written before it's too late to edit.

This new labs feature is called Mail Goggle. When Mail Goggle is enabled, it forces you to answer some simple math questions before you send out your off-the-top-of-your head manifesto. It says:

  • It's that time of day. Gmail aims to help you in many ways.
  • Are you sure you want to send this? Answer some simple math problems to verify.

Now for those math geniuses out there, this protection may not be particularly effective. Some of you (you know who you are) can just rattle off the answers to these questions in your sleep, and then hit send anyway. However, some of us will need a moment to solve the problems. Others may need calculators. Either way, the goal of this protection is to offer a momentary pause, assuming that pause will encourage us to take a few steps back. "Uhhh, maybe I'll send this tomorrow." Uh, that's probably not a bad idea.

This article was written by Gina DeHaan, Copywriter at Active Web Group.