[kingu]

What I don't think most people realize that just about every e-mail that goes across the internet is archived in at least one place, if not four or five places. I'm less worried about what Google will do with my e-mail than I am with Verizon, etc. At least with a web interface, you're cutting down on at least the upstream portion of that archive, and since most companies have a stable relationship with google, the e-mails generally get delivered directly to their destination.

So, yeah, never e-mail anything you wouldn't want to deal with in twenty years. But don't imagine that google is some evil empire waiting to trap you.

As an aside, to remove e-mail from google so it isn't in the active database (vs the archive which virtually nothing can stop), mark the e-mail as spam, open the spam folder, and delete the message. Works from either the inbox or the archive.

[summer]

What I don't think most people realize that just about every e-mail that goes across the internet is archived in at least one place, if not four or five places.

I agree with people's concerns and advice about email, but, frankly, I don't understand how what you said above can be true.

[summer]

vs the [Google] archive which virtually nothing can stop

Is this true for all other companies selling or offering emai services? That everything is archived? I am finding that hard to believe for everyone, though I would believe it with respect to Google.