One frustrating aspect of GMail is the contacts application. Once you e-mail someone five times or more, that e-mail address is automatically added to your contact list. The result? A contact list that is way larger than you probably want it to be. Google has ditched this function.At first I thought the feature was extremely helpful. With GMail automatically adding contacts to my database, it freed me from what is otherwise a boring and mundane task. But then I began to notice some really strange names listed in my contacts. For example, I now have several (OK, a lot) of Craigslist ads as "contacts." The worst part is that they were automatically synced to my desktop contacts application, then automatically synced to my phone. I definitely don't need them -- nor want them -- to be there. This would be one way to spell H E A D A C H E.

Google heard complaints from users loud and clear. It said recently in a blog post, "After hearing consistent feedback that you wanted more control over your contacts, we've changed the way Gmail suggests contacts to you. Up to this point, if you e-mailed someone five times, we'd automatically move them into My Contacts. Now, we'll no longer automatically add contacts to your My Contacts group. Instead, you can go to Suggested Contacts, select the contacts you'd like and move them into My Contacts. All of your contacts -- whether they're in My Contacts or Suggested Contacts -- will continue to show in auto-complete as you're composing messages."

So what are you supposed to do with all the contacts GMail has already added that you don't really want?

Google continues, "As part of this change, we're moving previously auto-added contacts back into Suggested Contacts. Only contacts that you've edited, imported, or added to a group will remain in My Contacts. This will provide everyone with a clean slate and, we hope, a better point for syncing contacts with mobile devices (for example with Android). We'll be rolling this change out to everyone over the next few days."

This is a welcome change.