How to Enable and Use Gmail "Mail Goggles"

Although you may be a responsible emailer during the daylight hours, have you ever sent an email late at night that you probably shouldn't have? Did connecting with your ex-girlfriend's mother really seem like a good idea at 3 a.m. after a few drinks? Then the Mail Goggles add-on for Gmail may be for you. This add-on will give you an opportunity to think twice (and answer a few simple math questions) before sending that late-night email.

Instructions

1. Log in to your Gmail account. Go to the navigational bar on the top right and click on the "Settings" link.

2. Click on the Labs link on the top right of the "Settings" menu. When the page loads, scroll all the way down until you see the "Mail Goggles" lab application. Since this is a newer application, it will be near the bottom of the list.

3. Select the "Enable" button next to the "Mail Goggles" application and then scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Save Changes."

4. Go back to the "Settings" menu and click on "General". You will see a new setting near the top entitled "Mail Goggles." Click on the checkboxes next to the individual days of the week which you want Mail Goggles to engage. Then select the time period for which you want the feature to engage from the pull-down menu.

5. Set the difficulty level of the math problems that will be asked when Mail Goggles is engaged. The lowest difficulty setting, 1, features simple multiplication and addition. The most difficult is level 5, which features long addition, more complex multiplication and simple division.

Tips & Warnings

• You will have 60 seconds to answer the questions. If you answer them incorrectly, you will be able to try again or exit. You will not be able to send your message until you answer the questions correctly or Mail Goggles is disengaged.

• You can disable Mail Goggles at any time by going to the Labs menu under Settings and selecting "Disable." Make sure you save your settings once this is done.

Resources

• GMail Blog: "Stop Sending Mail You Later Regret"