Using GMail for Lists

I’ve read some articles on various blogs about how people are using GMail to maintain certain lists. GMail allows the “+” syntax on email addresses. For example, the two email addresses “potsie+Incubate@gmail.com” and “potsie+Goals@gmail.com” both get the email to “potsie@gmail.com”. However, the “+Incubate” and “+Goals” part of the address allows you to set up rules in GMail which automatically apply labels to incoming messages. So, continuing the above example, Potsie could create Incubate and Goals labels in his GMail account. Then he can create the appropriate rules. One rule would automatically apply the “Incubate” label to any incoming emails which have been sent to “potsie+Incubate@gmail.com”, for instance. It is easy to have the rule automatically archive the message also so that you do not even have to see it again. This is useful for reference items and other information which needs to be collected but not reviewed until some time in the future.