<p>Which email systems are easiest for novice senior citizens? </p>
<p>Last summer I set up my dad with a new laptop and gmail account. He hasn’t used much lately, partly because gmail has gotten so complex. It seems to involve a lot of scrolling and such. I hesitate to change him because so many people have his gmail address. And it seems all systems will have pros/cons. We like gmail because I can log on to his account from 2000 miles away when assistance is needed. </p>
<p>Dad is decent on basic keyboard (from old work days) but not as good with the mouse and “extra” keys. He has a 2011 HP laptop with win7.</p>
<p>Call me a dinosaur, but I like AOL. I migrated away very recently because of problems I had between AOL and my smartphone. Otherwise, I’d be sticking with it.</p>
<p>You can easily arrange for Gmail to forward incoming mail from his Gmail account to AOL, so he won’t miss mail from people who have that address.</p>
<p>You can download the AOL desktop to his computer, which, IMO is an easier interface than accessing AOL through the web. But you would still be able to log onto his account via AOL’s website if you wanted to.</p>
<p>Really? I got my parents set up on gmail using microsoft email apps, no problem. They don’t use the web browser for gmail. I do not like the conversation feature.</p>
Okay - you’re a dinosaur. I can’t believe AOL is still in business - a classic failure of a company.</p>
<p>Since most email apps are actually quite easy, rather than switching him around, which will likely only confuse him further, why don’t you sit with him a bit while he uses it and see what his issues are and then either make those areas easier for him or explain them to him. I think gmail is a good one for him to use and you can use customizations if necessary to try to make it easier for him. The simpler the better.</p>
<p>I’ve found the elderly can use the email apps okay if they give them a chance and try them a bit and sometimes have some things explained to them in the context of snail mail, which is something they can identify with. Explain how the mail goes to an ‘address’, just like snail mail, but it can also go to multiple addresses, as if one made a bunch of carbon copies (hence ‘cc’) and can be sent to others as well and how they can organize things in folders, just like in a file cabinet, etc.</p>
<p>We have my Mom on Gmail and she does quite well as long as she uses it at least once a week. Somewhere on the home page we were able to delete all the options she would never use like “mark as unread” or “file copy”. Basically we left her home screen with in, sent and trash.</p>
<p>Is there a gmail for dummies youtube video you could send him?</p>
<p>We considered getting my father a computer but decided it would be down more than not. With the nearest IT (his sons) an hour away, every time he hit some wrong keys and got stuck, he would be frustrated. It just wasn’t worth the gamble. YMMV.</p>
<p>My grandmother has been using yahoo for years on one of the computers in the library at her building. She just got a computer, and my father tried to set her up with the Mac Mail application, thinking it would be easier, but she didn’t understand it all and managed totally remove it from the computer (and we don’t know how she did that, since we don’t think she understands the computer enough to empty the trash). She’s back to yahoo.</p>
<p>I think staying with what he knows might be ideal unless you can find a different application that clearly solves a specific problem that he’s having.</p>
<p>I’m probably a dinosaur also, but I use yahoo. Simple and straight forward. They keep wanting more personal data, but I skip that part. </p>
<p>Actually, my yahoo account also includes an email account that I actually use, sbcglobal.net, but I’ve never seen anywhere, set up by some computer guy about 10 years ago, and wouldn’t recommend.</p>
<p>I think gmail is about as easy as it gets. </p>
<p>You can organize his inbox so the important messages, meaning any from people in his contacts list, are separate. It has a decent spam filter. Some of the commands aren’t that obvious but a little cheat sheet is all he would need to find the right button to send or forward or reply.</p>
<p>I download mail to Mac OS X mail. You can set that up as imap so you can go through and delete the stuff off the server. If the issue is using 2 programs versus accessing gmail through a browser, then I’m not sure what is really easier than gmail.</p>
<p>For my dh’s elderly aunt, we kept her on AOL. She knew it and we didn’t dare try to change it. She did pay for unlimited support and she got her money’s worth. I think she knew all the IT guys’ names. </p>
<p>We never put my parents on the internet after we found out they turned the computer off by pulling the plug.</p>
<p>One of my cousins just coaxed our aunt into getting a Facebook account. It is set to completely private, and within that account another cousin set up a “secret group”. Only my aunt’s children and the cousins from that generation can join. This of course has resulted in intense lobbying from the next generation who want to know what it is that we are chatting with each other about. Aunt can keep up with us all, and can contribute if she so desires. She also has a yahoo account that she’s had for years, but she doesn’t log in very often. We think that Facebook is going to work better for her.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the good hints. Yes, part of the problem is that he doesn’t consistently use email. So some of the issues are simple mouse/keyboard things that will be a challenge on any email system. He had them conquered last summer, but then he didn’t stick with it.</p>
<p>“why don’t you sit with him a bit while he uses it and see what his issues are and then either make those areas easier for him or explain them to him.” - That would be great. But he lives 2000 miles away. I’ve resisted switching him since he has gmail partly licked, but I’ll visit in a few weeks and thought I should solicit ideas. My son and I will work with him again, but we need to decide whether to forge ahead with gmail (my inclination) or try something simpler. </p>
<p>At one point I dug up a local hs student (3 miles away) willing to help him for volunteer hours, but she insisted she could it by mailing him letters with instructions…argh, it’s the personal and repetitive coaching that he needs.</p>
<p>Any chance there is a class at the local senior center? I know many offer classes on various computer usage things.</p>
<p>My inlaws use gmail. I wish someone would disable the emoticons. They have some trouble but it’s usually that they think they have sent something and then find it weeks later unsent. </p>
<p>When you go, perhaps you can leave a very simple list instruction on what to do.</p>
<p>I found a great 6-week senior computer class for dad and his wife last fall, but it was 30 miles away. So far I’ve found nothing near. Last year I did leave some simple instruction (actually printed screenshots with notes). Not sure if he still has them. We can try again. </p>
<p>I picked gmail last year because my son had it on his laptop. So we were able to demo it to Dad ahead of the purchase to make sure he liked the idea (his WebTV was no longer a good option). Then when we had dad’s laptop we were able to do “play time” demo with two laptops side-by-side. That method works pretty well in person. </p>
<p>I feel your pain. Over a number of years, I have tried and tried with my mom, as she misses so many family connections due to lack of internet. Her sister can’t hear my mom’s faint aging voice on the phone, but emails with abandon. But can we get them together on one medium or the other? No. When I visit, we have internet practice many days, or the days I can drag her to it. But the instruction seems to never take. And essentially, she can’t understand the need for it and lacks the motivation. </p>
<p>That being said, I’d vote for yahoo as an easier method, though I prefer gmail myself. The strings of emails and where to reply might be a little too vague to grasp on gmail.</p>
<p>I was not used to the string of email methods when I started gmail last year (to help dad). But I have gotten to like it. I also like how it keeps unread mail at top. I did look at yahoo a bit… pros/cons to each method though. Dad has an advantage of old email experience on PS/2 and webtv. His wife is a reluctant newbie - I don’t push, even though I know it would streamline her church committee work. </p>
<p>My dad is still good fairly good on the phone if his hearing aid is on. But email too would be better.</p>