anyone who valued privacy was stupid enough to use gmail for anything but the most trivial and insensitive of communications. I guess equating ignorance with stupidity could be seen as a bit severe. Whatever, the result is the same.

Don't use web based email services for private and sensitive communications.

As far as I'm aware (and I could well be wrong), gmail is still in beta.

Anyone using a beta product for something that is important to them is pretty stupid.

as opposed to receiving email through the post?

No, silly. As opposed IMAP or POP3. Please remember, the web is not the internet.

may as well ditch gmail, its obviously no good. In fact I don't think I'll bother wit t'internet anymore - back to paper and pen...if only I could find a post office. Ha!

Thank you for educating AC. I just couldn't be bothered.

But even with IMAP and POP3 although less susceptible to 3rd party snooping and thus more secure, If the email is not encrypted...