Gmail - Find Emails That Never Got a Reply

http://jonathan-kim.com/2013/Gmail-No-Response/

by hijonathan • 13 years ago

113 23 13 years ago

jonathan-kim.com

nollidge• 13 years ago

I think this would just make me sad.

noinput• 13 years ago

I pray recruiters never find this

Lost_BiomedE• 13 years ago

Ah, I thought it would be the other way around. Before I send a mail, I click 'expect reply'. If I don't get a reply in x days, I get a notice. Is that a current option?

wlj• 13 years ago

Boomerang for Gmail [0] has implemented this functionality well.

I prefer it to say having an entire folder of emails I haven't received replies on as it allows me to specifically manage messages that are important enough to require a non-replied reminder.

[0] http://www.boomeranggmail.com/

hijonathan• 13 years ago

Boomerang and Followup.cc are both great alternatives, and I use them too. I like the granularity, but the downside is you're sending them a copy of your email, which might contain sensitive info :\

andy102• 13 years ago

I like http://toolbox.mxhero.com, It's free for unlimited messages and also does interesting things with attachments and a few other features I find useful. They also have an open source version http://sourceforge.net/projects/mxhero/?source=navbar

mattbot5000• 13 years ago

This could be accomplished by applying a label to the conversation and modifying the script to look for that.

ibsathish• 13 years ago

Good one, as long as marketers and recruiters don't use.

saraid216• 13 years ago

You realize that marketers and recruiters have giant databases full of email addresses and whether or not you responded, right?

r721• 13 years ago

My favorite gmail search tip: "has:nouserlabels" (via https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7190?hl=en)

chimeracoder2• 13 years ago

Some emails I send are sensitive, and I’d rather not forward it to a third-party service if I don’t have to. However, those sensitive emails are often important, so I need a way to remember to follow up.

I feel this pain.

Shameless plug: I wrote an open-source version of Boomerang/Followup.cc that is designed to be self-hosted, specifically because of this concern: https://github.com/ChimeraCoder/go-yo

(For the record: I like script in the original submission script, but for me, I rarely use the Gmail web interface, so I had to make something that works over IMAP).

It's still a WIP, but I've been using it myself for the "bounce-back" feature for the last several months.

shimon_e• 13 years ago

Google should hire this man.

jaksmit• 13 years ago

I've written simplified instructions for how to use this (and simplified the script) here: http://jacksmith.quora.com/How-to-find-emails-youve-sent-tha...

plg• 13 years ago

Not to be too persnickety, but if you have to search for emails that didn't get a response, doesn't this imply that they didn't matter all that much to begin with? In other words if they mattered, you would know, and you would follow up on your own?

I guess if you're so busy you lose track of these things? But again...

kbenson• 13 years ago

Sometimes a reply may be contingent on getting some other bit of information in the near future, such as a response from some person or entity that is required before the response will be useful.

In the end, not everyone's usage pattern is the same, and people end up using email for things other than direct communication (such as tracking future work items). While not ideal, for some it's easier than dealing with a completely separate application that integrates to various degrees.

andybak• 13 years ago

The scripting capabilities of Google Apps don't get enough love round here. I'm fascinated what's possible in terms of mashups and hacks when you allow stuff to be scripted. Web APIs get a lot of attention but not APIs on apps and app-like stuff.

cupcake-unicorn2• 13 years ago

Oh no, I thought this was exactly what I was looking for, but I would like it to be able to flag emails that I haven't responded to yet in a few days or so..anyone done a modification to that?

baydinalex• 13 years ago

Yup. I wrote a version to do this when Fred Wilson requested it a little over a year ago and I realized I needed it too: https://script.google.com/d/1B8YC4D7KT7pZKXyq3TkfJUJPv1mmjZj...

Matt Galligan and I put together a version of the No Response Apps Script back in June also. It's more basic than this, but might be easier as a starting point for modification. https://script.google.com/d/11c63LM4rOTxCP5uqffLDhIaEQFmNo0p...

I've been loving Apps Script for things that are too lightweight to need something like Boomerang, with a server and a full browser extension, but heavy enough that you can't do it with a search string.

cupcake-unicorn2• 13 years ago

Awesome, thanks! I just found out about google Script today - was thinking my only choice would be something like Greasemonkey - so very grateful for all this.

1dundundun• 13 years ago

Yesware is an interesting option. Try it out. Haven't touched boomerang or followup.cc since discovering it.

There is that privacy/security issue though. I always look at web based email as being inherently insecure anyway.

andy102• 13 years ago

I tried all 3 and settled on http://toolbox.mxhero.com. I like that they also have an open source version: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mxhero/?

Gmail - Find Emails That Never Got a Reply

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