UPDATE: Gmail Invitations Become Fussy

There was a message from the Gmail Team waiting for me this morning, regarding my inability to access the Invites popup. They made two suggestions (the entire letter is at the end of this post). The first was to login to my Gmail account using the secure (https://) address, the second was to twiddle with both my browser and my spam blocking software.

I have always been using the secure server, but I didn't do the other suggestions because the Invites link is working again. Gmail Team might have tweaked a setting (they didn't say), or it could just be one of those things. Hey, this IS beta ware.

Here's the letter they sent.

-----------

Hello,

Thank you for your report. We apologize for any inconvenience this may
have caused.

To fix this problem, please try logging in to your account through our
secured interface. Secure HTTPS access is available via
https://gmail.google.com. Simply paste this URL in your browser and then
log in to Gmail. Please be sure to use this exact URL, with no characters
after '.com.'

It may also be necessary to disable third-party firewall, anti-virus, or
ad-blocking software (for example, Norton Firewall or Anti-Virus). Please
close all open browser windows and disable such software. Open up a new
browser window, and adjust your privacy and security preferences. To
adjust these preferences in Internet Explorer, please follow the steps
below:

1. Click the 'Tools' menu at the top of your browser, and select 'Internet
Options.'
2. Click the 'Privacy' tab at the top of the dialog box, and select 'Low.'
3. Click the 'Edit' button, and enter 'google.com' into the 'Address of
Web site' field.
4. Select 'Allow' to override the handling of particular cookies.
5. Click the 'Security' tab at the top of the dialog box, and change the
'Security level for this zone' to 'Low.'
6. Click 'OK.'

Next, please clear your browser's cache. To clear your browser's cache in
Internet Explorer, please follow the steps below:

1. Click the 'Tools' menu at the top of your browser, and select 'Internet
Options.'
2. Click the 'General' tab at the top of the dialog box.
3. Click 'Delete Files' under 'Temporary Internet files.'
4. Select 'Delete all offline content' by checking the box.
5. Click 'OK.'

Finally, open a new browser window and log back in to Gmail. Please try
accessing your Contacts list again.

If you continue to encounter difficulties, please respond to this message,
and we will be happy to investigate the issue further.

We hope you enjoy Google's approach to email.

Sincerely,

The Gmail Team