Gmail Looks Out For Your Drunk Ass With "Mail Goggles"

We’ve all been there. We click send and then say "Oh shit!" We just sent a txt or e-mail out and we are having second thoughts. We want desperately to get it back, but unfortunately, there isn’t an unsend button. So what do we do, other than panic? It’s out there, flying at lighting speed thru cyberspace and has already been delivered in the recipient’s inbox in a matter of seconds! There’s no time to race to the girl’s apartment, knock the Crackberry from her hands and tackle her to the floor screaming "Don’t read that! Don’t read that!" Even if you could get there in time and intercept the message, the chances of her NOT reading it are slim to none. You’ve just sparked her interest in why you so adamantly want her NOT to read it. So naturally, now she is dying to know what it says! "I think im drunk and i think i love you" - perfect example of a txt I sent out late one night. And sooo not romantic. I’m also guilty of booty calling the wrong girl while drunk. Ummm, yeaaah. That was an awkward moment. But hey, in my defense, the contact list is small on my phone and the buttons are touchy. Not to mention my vision was slightly impaired making it rather tricky.

As if you needed yet another reason to love Google. If you remember the other week I gave you 10 reasons to love Google, but perhaps you need just one more. If so, then you’re in luck because Gmail Labs (Google’s beta testing/lab of new Gmail features) has introduced the best feature to date! I’m sure you are familiar with the term "beer goggles", but Gmail has added a twist to it with "Mail Goggles". Sometimes we send messages we shouldn't send. Like the time you told that certain someone you had a crush on them over txt message. Or the time you sent that late night e-mail to your ex wanting to get back together. Gmail can't always prevent you from sending messages you might later regret, but Gmail can give you a virtual sobriety test that may help. And when we are drunk, we can use all the help we can get! Think of "Mail Goggles" as your designated e-mailer. (Get it? Designated driver/designated e-mailer? I know, bad joke. Let’s move on.)

When you enable Mail Goggles, it will check that you're really sure you want to send that late Saturday night e-mail. And what better way to check than by making you solve a few simple math problems after you click send to verify you're in the right state of mind? But if you can’t answer a handful of 3rd grade math questions in under 60 seconds even when sober, well then you’re pretty much fucked trying to do it while intoxicated. So good luck with that. By default, Mail Goggles is only active late night on the weekend as that is the time you're most likely to need it, when you are out drinking yourself into a drunken stupor. Once enabled, you can adjust when it's active in the General settings, for those of you that are daytime alcoholics.

Blame it on the Blackberry. Blame it on the iPhone. Blame it on every cell phone that is equipped with mobile web access and txting capability. Sure the sport of drunk dialing is still around, but it seems these days many of us have moved on to drunk txting and drunk e-mailing. Whether it’s a phone call, a txt message or an e-mail, all are equally detrimental to your character when you are drunk. So hopefully Mail Goggles will prevent many of you out there from sending messages you wish you hadn't. And when in doubt, do what I do. I have a rule I follow, or at least try to follow, to keep me from saying something I’ll later regret. When my emotions are running high (whether it be anger, love, etc), I write the message and sit on it for a full 24 hours before sending. That way I have time to cool down and think it over. I rationalize it out and if I still feel the same in 24 hours, then I hit send. Try it. It’s been a life saver for me!

Although this isn't to say that I don't occasionally send totally random and probably completely inappropriate messages now and then - drunk and sober. I'm human. It happens. Please forgive.