Yahoo Mail 2011 upgrade = a trap for users?
I created my first Yahoo account nearly seven years ago. There have been modifications to Yahoo Mail since then, most notably the integration of Yahoo Messenger into it in 2009. According to Wikipedia, there are currently two other versions of the Yahoo Mail other than the one launched as early as 1997. Those versions were released in 2007 and 2011, and for a long time, upgrading to a newer version of the Yahoo Mail is only an option – until recently.
Have you opened your Yahoo Mail recently? If you did, you probably got irked that Yahoo is literally coercing you to upgrade to the 2011 version. And users’ hands are tied as regards to this. In an effort to “encourage” all their users to upgrade to the 2011 release, you will see this upon accessing Yahoo Mail. Notice that I highlighted the word “trap” in the Yahoo Mail URL.
One cannot access his/her account without clicking the “Try in now” button. In other words, unless you upgrade to the latest version of Yahoo Mail, you will not be able to check your emails. Indeed, it is a TRAP – and the only way to revert back to the classic Yahoo Mail is by turning off your Internet browser’s JavaScript.
I know these services are given for free, and that is something everyone of us will always be thankful for. However, isn’t it better if these companies (including Facebook!) give their users an option to avail of the upgrade or not?
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Thank you for your post. I’m so frustrated. I’m looking at the other mail alternatives so I can migrate my email contents to email services I previously disregarded as “not-so-user-friendly”. Now, I’ll have to use Hotmail as my default email. Good bye, Yahoo mail after 10 years 🙁
That is sad to hear. why don’t this suggestion: Turn off the JavaScript of your Internet browser. The new Yahoo Mail can’t be supported without JavaScript, and hence, you’ll be given the option of going back to Mail Classic. 🙂
How odd. I have two Yahoo! email accounts, and I am blocked from both of them at this time, yet, even though I cleared all cookies just now, I see that one of my email addresses appears below this box.
I’m so tired of being jerked around. All those months of getting the COUNTDOWN!!!!! time ticking away blah blah blah… and then when the DAY came last week, I reread all the terms and took great issue with Yahoo! scanning and analyzing all incomeing and outgoing mail. Not just looking for keywords. I reported that to the FTC or FCC.
So, I refused to “click” to upgrade. Yet A couple of days later, I had access to one of my accounts (not the one that is appearing on this page). But this afternoon, after signing out of it, I can no longer sign back in unless I click to upgrade. What kind of nonsense is this anyway. What the heck do they hope to accomplish.
Why are they pretending that we have to click anything at all when they can just do the upgrade and that’s that. That is clearly what happened with my one account, as I swear on this computer – I DID NOT AGREE.
I deeply resent the scanning and analysis – and it also frightens me. It is far too easy to see a future where the type of information available to people on the internet has been honed down to represent .. what – 100 people? 10 people? It’s already true that in any search engine, the system firmly believes that it knows what we are looking for and always how that thing is spelled. It is wrong. Often wrong.
Is there to be one generic human who only learns and reads what is on the internet? Meanwhile — the heck with email. It’s usually been nothing but trouble.
Thank you for your comment. I am not sure if Yahoo indeed took the effort to explain to us users that they intend to essentially peek into our emails as they please. That is absolutely objectionable. Good thing that US has its FCC. I don’t know here in the Philippines. Are you considering other email providers?
Correction. The accessible email is still accessible. It seems that Yahoo! does sign you in even though it appears that you are not signed in, hence, my still-blocked email address appearing on this page.
I, too, have had these accounts for over 10 years, and, yes, I’ve been grateful, (perhaps overly so), for the free access. But this is utter bull. This means that in addition to the legally questionable reading of all email, you are blocked from reading your email unless you play the click upgrade game.