passed the Gmail limit

Well, there it is:

1GB of useless duplicate mp3s on Google's hard drive.
Take that, free service! :)

I managed to reach the limit rather easily by constantly forwarding messages to my account from within Gmail itself (saved quite a bit of time and bandwidth). It doesn't look like Gmail is smart enough to store the same attachment only once...

Small text-only email messages still get through, but anything with an attachment seems to get bounced now. Also, when I try to send something from within Gmail (of any size), I get an alertbox saying: "Your message could not be sent because you have exceeded your mail quota."

All in all, not as exciting a conclusion as I had hoped (in that nothing unexpected happened). But I have discovered Gmail makes a kick-ass mp3-tennis interface (whereby two players send interesting mp3s back and forth; been playing it with Ruben), so I'll probably delete the duplicates soon to make more room for that.

Update:
I just realized, the reason for the seemingly too large 1023MB is because Google is using an actual gigabyte (1024MB) as a limit, rather than the rounded off 1000MB figure shown.

absolut wrote on 2004/07/11:: Yeah, really nice experiment. It seems like gmail is the most advanced webmail service now.

Morg wrote on 2004/07/12:: so... if small text-only messages get through... we might aswell cramp it up a bit more with a few gigs of small text-only messages :)

milov wrote on 2004/07/12:: Actually I just deleted a bunch of stuff, so now I'm down to a paltry 644MB again. Send me some more of those interesting mp3s! :)

Steven wrote on 2004/07/13:: cool thinking!

Anyone want to take pity & share a gmail invite? Heh I'm wishing I could try it out & see all the stuff people are talkin about.

margaret wrote on 2004/07/13:: sure, i'll help you out steven. i have like 6 invites hanging around, and i feel like i ought to help out seeing as that i was given an account by a friendly stranger.

Mark Cameron wrote on 2004/07/13:: Margaret: if you are handing out the invites, could I ask for one too (since you are being nice to strangers...)? All I can promise is good karma for your generosity.
-Mark

milov wrote on 2004/07/13:: Oops, I hope I didn't inspire a whole bunch of Gmail users to try this same trick, because I'm getting nothing but timeouts on Gmail right now :|

Phillip Winn wrote on 2004/07/13:: My question is: Sure, Google chewed up your 1GB with those attachments, but <i>were they actually physically stored on disk more than once</i>? 'Twould be a very nice hack indeed to track the space but only physically store a pointer to the first instance of an attachment. Seems like it would save a *lot* of space.

Then again, I think the design of the Google filesystem makes space less important than speed. I'll have to go back and re-read that page...

milov wrote on 2004/07/13:: > but only physically store a pointer to
> the first instance of an attachment

I thought about that too. Reasons for not bothering with it may simply be that attachments appearing more than once might not be all that common (except in my crazy experiment). But even so, why then present the user with a fake indication of used space?

Brandon wrote on 2004/07/14:: You still got some love to share? I'd like to give my fiance a new gmail account with her soon-to-be new last name (mine). :-) Got any invites left to share?

kasra wrote on 2004/07/15:: hi there
can you invite me to get gmail ? it's vital 4 me .
thanks

Leo Da Dominico wrote on 2004/07/15:: Hi, I would like to receive an invitation to Gmail please. Thanks

Chris Logsdon wrote on 2004/07/16:: Hey i was just wondering if anyone had any extra gmail invites laying around. See everyone around me like my cousin and friends all dont have one and id appreciate to be invited myself so i can share gmail with them too...Id really appreciate it if i could receive just one invite. I know i sound like everyone else but i want to feel like the one needed around here for once lolol ....thank you all for ur time even if i dont get invited....cya

Email:Crisdaman@hotmail.com

spence wrote on 2004/07/17:: hey there, it would be cool if i could get a gmail invite too... i wanna get a cool username, and check it all out - even though i will probably stay with hotmail because of all my newsgroups and stuff i wish i could forward all the e-mails from hotmail to gmail, that would be handy

-spence

tntoak wrote on 2004/07/18:: I have also been trying to get a Gmail invite, but I keep coming up w/ nothing. If anyone can help, I'd GREATLY appreciate it.

Conal Buckley wrote on 2004/07/19:: I think you may have stumbled across something a little more signifigant than just poor programming (or maybe just outside of the scope of design). There's all sorts of people screaming about privacy issues when it comes to gmail scanning your email as it goes through. But it didn't seem to scan your attachment at all (otherwise it would've noticed the same name, size, and parity check; much like when you try to save a file twice to the same directory). Maybe this is a bypass for having it read all of your emails? Just send everything in attachments. it may even be easy to write a program that'll interface with an addin would make the email send as an attchment without the end user seeing the process.

BTW, if you have an extra invite, I don't suppose you co8uld pass it my way.....I'm desprate to try to code around gmail and I don't know anyone with an extra invite.

j00n wrote on 2004/07/20:: i'm partially interested in going through the coding, but also can't get that curiosity to boil down over it either. if anyone has a spare invite, toss one my way if it suits you.

Rindu wrote on 2004/07/22:: Can somebody please send me a Gmail invite.. i'm very much in need of one.. My email is tharindu@elsteel.com

Neil Voutt wrote on 2004/07/23:: An invite would help me alot, an spare invite would be a odsend i would thank anyone a million times.. please be a friendly person :)

Shaun wrote on 2004/07/23:: well, i dont want to sound repetitive like evryone else, but thers no harm in asking. An invite would be greatly appreciated on this end also. No one i know at all had gmail in this little hick indiana town, and i'd love to be able to share it with my friends as well. Thanks for your time.

omar wrote on 2004/07/24:: guys, ill really apreciate if you could mail me how to erase messages in gmail

Mohammad S. wrote on 2004/07/26:: hi i want gmail

Chani wrote on 2004/07/27:: Conal Buckley: there's a very easy way to stop gmail from scanning your mail. it's called PGP :)

Cheves wrote on 2004/07/28:: Hey can I have one Gmail invite I'm offering a link(banner) in my site to your site, email me to cheves@desiertoportal.com

Filipe wrote on 2004/07/28:: Hi, can any of you send me an envitation to a GMAIL account?

chinnet wrote on 2004/07/31:: Any one can send me an invitation to GMAIL account as my birthday gift?

balivash wrote on 2004/08/08:: please invait me to get gmail
tanks alot bye bye

balivash wrote on 2004/08/08:: oh sarry may email isnot true bye

pablo wrote on 2004/08/10:: hey what sup ppl. well gee i been trying to get invited to get gmail and its so dam hard i wish it was just free like u can go to the website. but its hard i cant get it and if someone could invite me omg i will apriciate that sooooo much ok thanks alot.

themaddhatter wrote on 2004/08/15:: Hey, its my birthday this month. A gmail invite would be a really nice present.

coprophiliac wrote on 2004/09/03:: Hello there - really nice experiment.
Here is a gmail invite for anybody to use:
http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-dfa924449f-0d44f3bb6d-136c35b889
Happy mailing!

andy wrote on 2004/09/04:: Hi, I've heard interesting news about gmail and was not able to experience the new 1Gb email a/c, is there anyone out here generous enough to invite me?

kapil verma wrote on 2004/09/05:: hello
i am verry keen to open anew emmail account at gmail please help me .
thanks

with regards
kapil

jv wrote on 2004/09/06:: i want a gmail. please, i need it so badly

Mosche wrote on 2004/09/13:: Hi!

I would like to be considered for a GMAIL Invite please!

I will return a right back at ya fav!
THX,
Mow

Alex wrote on 2004/09/15:: Could somebody send me an invite?

prasad kulkarni wrote on 2004/09/26:: hey gmail is nice, but they should continue with thjeir system of not being open to everyone ,as it degrades yhe value of gmail. if any1 wants a gmail id pls send a request mail to prasannadgir@gmail.com

lex wrote on 2004/09/29:: i want a gmail account

prasad wrote on 2004/09/30:: i'd like to try the things which milov tried. pls send me an invite to any1 of the following id's:
pskgraduated@yahoo.com,prasadsk_hvr@hotmail.com,psk05@indiatimes.com

nitin revankar wrote on 2004/10/01:: pls send me a gmail invite

ehab helmy khaled wrote on 2004/10/08:: thank you for you invite ....

phong wrote on 2004/10/08:: help me get a gmail ...thank`s!

Nicolas wrote on 2004/10/20:: Necesito una invitacion para g-mail

Cool wrote on 2004/10/20:: Could anyone send me a G-mail invite as well. I'll be greatly thankful. Yahoo's 100mb seem to be inadequate for me! Paryers in advance.

rockman wrote on 2004/10/26:: help me get a gmail ...thank`s!

jeca wrote on 2004/10/29:: HELP ME PLEASE TO GET A GMAIL, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
THANKS IN ADVANCE

huu khanh wrote on 2004/11/06:: Please send invite gamail for me to :
huukhanh@pc4me.us
Thanks you very much!

Unstable Flame wrote on 2004/11/10:: Please send me a Gmail invite I would apreciate it.

AlNa wrote on 2004/11/11:: Please send me a Gmail invite too....

Cl`i`nt wrote on 2004/11/13:: Email me; I have 12 invites available.

® wrote on 2004/11/13:: HI,

If available i would appreciate an invite too gmail
h.elp@wanadoo.nl

thnx ®ob

bob wrote on 2004/11/18:: hi

i would be gobsmaced if you would be very kind and sent me a gmail invertation

thanks

bob

neelaka wrote on 2004/11/27:: I want a gmail account
neelaka

arash wrote on 2005/01/13:: i want agmail account send me agmail invertation

Fidel wrote on 2005/01/18:: I have two avail gmail accounts for visitors of my site.

emal wrote on 2005/01/21:: Hello everyone I would appriecite If someone could give me a gmail invitation. My email address is emal33@yahoo.com Thank you for reading my post and I hope someone can help me out.

Henry wrote on 2005/02/05:: Hello,
It would be grateful if you could send me a gmail invitation at jmreceive@hotmail.com. Thank you in advance.

bunnypox wrote on 2005/02/15:: I just passed my limit as well... purely by accident... bleh...

alviga wrote on 2005/04/03:: Hello !
Can anybody get me gmail invitation at alviga@yandex.ru

kirk wrote on 2005/04/04:: If anybody great guy or gal could send me an invite to gmail i will be very gratful
my email is kirkiusthegreat@hotmail.com

Photon wrote on 2005/04/12:: Mail me your e-mail address for Gmail invitation.

Jan! wrote on 2005/04/16:: Bloody hell, if you search Google for "gmail", this page is one of the first results: http://isnoop.net/gmail/

Go there instead of whining everywhere.

Winner wrote on 2005/04/29:: send me the invitation please
to dark_and_fair@yahoo.com
Thanks !

kansas wrote on 2005/08/24:: shut up dudes!
wtf?

Trung wrote on 2005/09/22:: Gmail

sachleen wrote on 2005/10/06:: if anyone doesnt have a GMAIL account yet and wants one, I have over 300 invites. Email me if you dont already have one.

sachleen wrote on 2005/10/06:: Oh, my email is sachleen@gmail.com

thought it woudld be included in the Posted by thing.

bernie wrote on 2006/01/03:: plz send me a invite for gmail bernie-_-@hotmail.com

mohammed wrote on 2006/01/19:: please give me an gmail invitation

mohammed wrote on 2006/01/19:: send me invitation forkhatrizaid@hotmail.com

milov.nl

July 2004

passed the Gmail limit