Why Gmail? What else?

My office has banned the use of Gmail. We now need to use Thunderbird or equivalent to check office mails. The reasons they site are lame. Some of them being:

1) We do not want people to use personal mail in office.

Hello! Guess what the Alliance-Axis brawl is over and Hitler is all but dead! Ever heard of Google Apps? It is possible to use Gmail as your office mail interface for free! Equating Gmail and personal mail is pathetic.

2) Storing office information in the cloud is not safe. We trust our own servers better. It is in the room next to my cubicle. So it is safe.

Believing that a server is safe because you bought it and it is in the room next to you is as lame as my principal who used to believe keeping CDs out of their packets would get them virus. Just because the sever is right under your arse does not mean it is safe. It is connected to the internet and you really don't know more about internet security than Google does. All the bullshitting about how cloud computing can be dangerous and risky business... dude gimme a break. You, everyone of you, use Gmail everyday to store the most private of your information. There is no place on earth where your information is more safe than Google's servers. Even you know that. Aren't all our late night coochie-coos saved somewhere in Gmail's chat messages?

3) People will use Gchat. Even if you don't, others will. So we decided to ban it for everyone.

From the little I know about network administration, it is possible to block only Gchat without blocking Gmail. And when one or two people are flouting the rules you go talk to them about it. You don't stop everyone from doing it.

Gmail does not reduce productivity. The best and the most productive company in the world uses Gmail internally. Any guesses who? Google! So, why don't you just admit that even you are one of those red-tape tangled, gun toting software companies? Because that is exactly what you are starting to resemble, with every passing day.