This tip comes from a question asked by a site visitor, Daree: "I was wondering how you can delete an email and advance to the next email in your folder. Currently when I delete an email I am reading, it takes me back to the inbox. Yahoo has this option but it seems that Gmail doesn’t offer it from the Settings link at the top." The function that Daree asks for is not specifically available, but there is a partial solution–more of a workaround, actually. Read on to learn how to at least get close to this functionality….

First, you need to have "Keyboard shortcuts" turned on. To do this, click the "Settings" link in the upper right of your Gmail screen, and look for the "Keyboard shortcuts:" section. Select "Keyboard shortcuts on", and than click the "Save Changes" button.

Now, while viewing a message, simply press the "#" key (that’s shift-2 on US keyboards) and the message will be deleted. But wait, it takes you back to the list, right? Not exactly what we want. But notice that the message prior to the one you just deleted is now "indicated" by the black arrow next to it. Now, simply press either the "o" key or the "Enter" key, and that indicated message will open up.

While this isn’t exactly the functionality we are looking for, and it does require an extra keypress, the end result is that you are where you want to be, and it is all be done from the keyboard without having to grab the mouse. It also opens up some other (hopefully) powerful functions making things more flexible. For example, to further expand on the above, once you are back at the message list after deleting a message, pressing the "k" and "j" keys will move you up and down respectively through the list of messages. You should notice the black arrow on the left of the list moving up and down when you press those keys. Pressing "o" or "Enter" will opens the indicated message.

Further, if you see a message in the list that you want to delete without opening, you can just delete it using the "#" key…well, almost. In this case, as with using the mouse, the message is "indicated" by the black arrow, but it is not "selected" (ie: the checkbox is not checked) so just first press the "x" key to select the message and the checkbox toggles. You can open it, delete it, archive it, or a host of other things.

Gmail packs a LOT of power, but unfortunately, not all of its functions are intuitive. That said, check out Gmail’s "Keyboard Shortcuts" help screen found here…

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=6594

…where you’ll find lots of useful (but not always intuitive) keyboard shortcuts.

Finally, if you feel that this functionality would benefit the Gmail community, consider suggesting it to the Gmail developers by following this link:

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=suggest

Gmail is very powerful, and comparisons with competing solutions are inevitable. While not all features will ever match up exactly, there are often solutions that can provide similar function.

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I told my Mason friend from church that I was reading the book “Freemasons For Dummies”. Though he had not heard of it, he was pleased to see that I was taking the initiative to learn and study Freemasonry. I told him that I was getting anxious about waiting for the process to unfold, and he said that this is “a time of waiting and patience”. In some Lodges, things can move forward very quickly. In others, things can take a while. For me, it seems to be the later. I want things to move forward, and I know they are (apparantly a lot happens behind the scenes) it’s just that sometimes I don’t like waiting. But you know, it’s a good lesson in patience that I’m grateful for.

I’m really enjoying reading and learning the history of Freemasonry. I’m almost done with the “Freemasons For Dummies” book, and I continue to be fascinated by what it presents. For example, I never knew that the Boy Scounts and its honor organization the “Order Of The Arrow” (OA) had some roots in Freemasonry. While they are not Masonic organizations, many of their founders were Masons, and Masonic influence is very evident in ceremonies and moral teachings. This really hit home for me because I received the Eagle Scout award while I was a Scout, and I was elected by my troop to receive the Ordeal honor in OA (Ordeal being the the first “level” of OA) and I later took the Brotherhood honor. In college, I pledged the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, which is an offshoot of the Boy Scouts. It did have its social elements, but its main goal was brotherhood and service.

So I do have some familiarity with involvement in fraternal organizations, and I have had the honor of achieving goals of moral and fraternal importance. As an adult, I am no longer active in these organizations, but interestingly, the Scout Oath and Law, and the OA Obligation do cross my mind frequently. I guess the lessons I learned as a child form those organizations have stuck with me.

So, as I continue to wait and be patient, I also continue to read my book, and explore online. Despite the proliferation of anti-Masonic articles, there are many informative and interesting articles and blogs to explore. It’s very interesting to read the history of Freemasonry, how it has influenced society, and, more importantly, what other Masons went through and how they perceive Freemasonry.

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After talking with several Masons and doing lots of reading, I decided that I would like to join the ranks of the Freemasons. I talked with a Mason friend from church several times, and eventually he gave me a petition form to complete and return to him. It was an intriguing form with some interestingly worded questions, but everything seemed to be in order, so I completed the form and returned it to him. And that’s it! So now I wait patiently to learn the next steps.

He told me that my form would be presented to the Lodge, and that if the Lodge voted to consider my petition, then an investigating committee would be formed to meet with me. Hmmm…sounds ominous! But from what I’ve heard and read, it’s really just an opportunity for me to learn more about what’s to come, and for the members of the Lodge to decide whether or not they want to allow me to be part of their Lodge.

I’m guessing that it should be pretty straight forward, so I figure that if I just be myself and don’t try to impress, they’ll see me for who I really am and make decisions based on that.

Masonic Tips, Masonic Tips - The Complete Collection freemasonry, mason

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I read lots of information online about freemasonry, both pro and anti, but I felt that it was time to talk to someone who was actually involved in it to get some first-hand information. So I approached one of the members of our church who I knew to be a Mason, and he was quite open and happy to discuss it with me. He didn’t go into a lot of details, but he did give me enough information to make me want to know more. I left pondering what we discussed, and eventually went back online to read and learn some more.

Then, the next Sunday at church, another friend came up to me and said something along the lines of, “So Jim, I understand you’ve started a journey.” He caught me off guard–I honestly didn’t understand what he meant–but my quizzical look was obvious to him, so he said, “Let’s just say, you asked the right questions.” Then it hit me: he was a Mason also! We chatted for a while, and he answered some questions I had. So far, all of the men who I had discovered were Masons are respected men that I hold in high regard. What a refreshing thing to learn!

Interestingly, one of the things that I learned about Freemsonry is that you will never be asked to join. They don’t recruit or solicit–they wait for you to ask. I read a neat story that talked about one person’s experience in learning about how to join. He said that had he known that he had to ask, he would have asked long ago.

It later struck me that freemasonry is an organization that is not overt as such. Yes, it’s visible, but it doesn’t advertise or recruit. It pretty much just exists in the background, just “doing.” Now, the conspiracy theorists may have lots to say about that, and I admit that on occasion, I’ll don a tin-foil hat, but something about this seemed to be different. There is something about those Masons who I met that seems so compelling: They are humble, friendly, helpful, and Godly men. What they were involved in was something I want to be a part of.

Now, I’ll wait and see what is the next step.

This is my second article about my experience in Freemasonry.

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It seems that the topic of Freemasonry can pop up just about anywhere. I was having breakfast with a friend from church when the subject of Freemasonry came up. My friend is not a mason, but he told me that a number of our church members are. I had seen a lapel pin here and there on several of them, but I never gave it much thought. But after hearing a brief list of some church members who were Masons, I was intrigued. My first thought was, “How can these blatantly Godly men be Satan worshipers?” Obviously, I had some pre-conceptions of Freemasonry, so I decided to do some research to see just what it was all about. So began my journey.

Being an Internet geek, I started at the obvious places: Google and Wikipedia. As with most topics on the Internet, I was overwhelmed by the volume of information. It was also a bit discouraging because it seemed that for all the positive and informative Masonic sites I found, there were just as many if not more negative and anti-Masonic sites. On one hand, I read information on pro-Masonic sites that sounded above board and legitimate, and on the other hand, I read the conspiracy theories and claims about Freemasonry’s supposed “true” origins, involvements, and agendas. Some of these sites are quite convincing, and they do have some excellent information, but after a while, I became skeptical of many of the claims of the anti-Masonic view. I was reading one  anti-Masonic blog that appeared to have some excellent and interesting information…up to the point where it referenced the “Moon Landing Hoax”! That’s when the alarm bells went off, and I realized that my perusal of Masonic information had simply confirmed what I have always known: The Internet continues to be filled with lots of crackpots and paranoid people sporting tin-foil hats.

Are some of the anti-Masonic sites worth reading? In fairness, I have to say yes. After all, I believe that it’s important to understand all sides of an issue. Just try to be discerning about what both sides have to say. It was at this point that I stumbled upon the site MasonicInfo.com. At first, I thought it was yet another anti-Masonic site. But it turns out that it is a very pro-Masonic site that includes lots of interesting anti-Masonic information with responses, rebuttals, and explanations from a Masonic perspective. I found it to be very informative, and I was impressed that it presented both sides of the story. I especially liked the “Masonic Primer” section which contains lots of interesting historical and practical information about the “who”, “what”, and “why” of Freemasonry. For anyone interested in Freemasonry, I suggest you check this site out. It is rich with information, and well worth the read.

One interesting consistency I found with many pro-Masonic sites is that they tend to provide just enough information to get you interested in what Freemasonry is, but they don’t reveal everything about it. Many Masons will tell you that there are many things about Freemasonry that simply need to be experienced. In contrast, many of the anti-Masonic sites tend to want to reveal everything to the visitor. Again, this makes sense, as the apparent goal of many anti-Masonic sites is to “expose” Freemasonry. If you want to read the details of the rituals, and learn all of Freemasonry’s “secrets”, there are numerous sources, and they are available. But if you are at all interested in joining, then I’d recommend that it’s probably best to avoid those sources and just experience things as they come. I’ve chosen not to dig too deep, for should I decide to join, I don’t want to “spoil” anything.

Do take the time to research and learn. There are lots of misconceptions and misunderstandings about what Freemasonry is and isn’t. Heck, if nothing else, you are in for some interesting reading!

This is my first article about my experience in Freemasonry.

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I added this Masonic Tips section to my JimsTips.com site to provide you with a glimpse of my ongoing experience with Freemasonry. Despite the varied opinions and views of Freemasonry, I went into it with an open mind. Here you will find a blog of my Masonic journey, some informational articles, and some articles intended to provide objective responses to some myths surrounding Freemasonry.

The top image to the right is the common square and compasses associated with the Blue Lodge of Freemasonry with my Jim’s Tips “Thumb Up” logo added to dress it up. The bottom image represents the Rites associated with the York Rite. The bottom logo represents the three regular Blue Lodge degrees, the left logo is for the four Royal Arch Masonry degrees, the right logo is for the two Cryptic Masonry degrees, and the top is for the three Knights Templar degrees.

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