@derobert (1)*I wouldn't go that far.* that was the position you were defending: email is secure.
(2)*more secure than it used to be* More encrypted? Yes. More secure? No. Google can not be trusted to keep any secret.
(3)*And as far as things people actually use.* People in general? Are you planning to share a secret with people in general?
(4) Genral public can not be bottered even with changing their DNS server, general public encryption seems like an oxymoron. Secure E-mail for them, has never worked, looks like never will.