Have you looked in your spam folder lately? Gmail users will now be able to see why messages were marked as spam. Starting today (March 20), a brief explanation will appear at the top of each message. We would have liked to see the labels next to each subject line in the spam listing without having to open each message, but it's a step in the right direction and a feature other email providers don't offer. Gmail classifies spam three ways. Spam that is merely a nuisance gets a black-and-white boxed message saying that Gmail has detected many similar messages in its spam filter. But spam considered dangerous to the user is clearly marked in red. Either similar messages have been used to steal people's identity or a possible malicious link or virus has been detected. Gmail automatically deletes messages in your spam folder after 30 days, but you can remove them immediately by choosing "delete forever." Spam filters don't always get it right — messages you want may wind up in the spam folder. It's a simple fix in Gmail. Look for a small "x" next to the "spam" label near the top of the email and click it. The message will be sent to your inbox. And if Gmail has missed spam, take a moment to mark messages as spam by using the stop sign button at the top of your inbox. Not only will annoying messages be removed from your inbox, but Gmail will use the information to make its filters more accurate in the future.