Gmail is my all-time favorite e-mail program.  I love it.  I was surprised when I saw that they were adding chat directly into the application — and I still have concerns that chat in my e-mail might be problematic.
    But it really became a problem today when my school district’s filtering company blocked access to Gmail because it is now a "chat" application, and those are blocked.  That crippled me.  My school district’s mail application is nowhere near as useful, as versatile, or downright as user friendly as Gmail.  I have three different accounts that I use at school — one for listservs, one for collecting student work, and then my general account. 
    Fortunately, as soon as I requested that the site be unblocked, my request was granted.  But I still was crippled for a good chunk of the day.  Should I be upset about that — or happy that I was able to get the site unblocked?
    And why are schools so filter-happy?  We know they don’t solve anything. #