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Chris O'Brien

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  1. Expand the limit on levels of sub-folders within ProtonMail

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    11 comments  ·  Proton Mail & Calendar » Changes to existing features  ·  Admin →
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    Chris O'Brien supported this idea  · 
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    Chris O'Brien commented  · 

    Extending the maximum depth of folders or providing for deeply nested labels is essential for ProtonMail to be considered a serious business system.

    Why is this?
    Firstly, many people rely on folder structures to manage their email, particularly in professional work. Others on this thread have described how they effectively organise their work in this way. I was involved in a large legal case several years ago, and my Outlook folder structure allowed me to support building a case and providing a comprehensive and accurate discovery. The lawyer involved said it was the best discovery outcome he'd ever had from a client, and the case was eventually settled favourably because the emails needed to establish the facts were able to be reliably located.
    Secondly, many of those who don't use folders on other email platforms rely on powerful search features that are increasingly AI assisted. ProtonMail can't offer this kind of search on its native client because the email bodies are encrypted.

    The point about a folder structure is that it can be logically traversed. You don't always recall what a folder is called, but you can find it in the tree (in Outlook I use a plugin called SimplyFile that helps find folders and remembers where particular content should be filed - it's brilliant). With folders, users can have a high degree of confidence that the mail related to a particular topic is all in one place. This is also important for archiving and destruction, as all the emails for a particular concern are together and can be safely dealt with enmasse.

    If there are technical reasons why folder nesting can't be unlimited, then I would suggest doubling the current limit to around five or six levels. Labels could be used instead, but they would still need to have a traversable tree structure to replace folders. If labels could be nested to an unlimited extent, that might provide another option to overcome technical limitations. The ability to place folders under Inbox, instead of a separate 'Folders' container would be desirable.

    I would suggest that Proton stop dismissing those seeking these changes as a small minority, and give serious attention to providing an important feature for the Mail product.