[lostsock]

Maybe I can't see it because the phrase is already in my head buy what exactly is incorrect about "You have got mail?".

Is it just the superfluous 'got'?

[jaylevitt]

Yes. We used to get hundreds of letters from English teachers pointing out that the correct phrasing was "You Have Mail". In fact, at one point, the AOL welcome screen said "You Have Mail", even though the voice still said "You've Got Mail".

But, like "idonethis", and like you, we thought our version was just.. stickier. And it stuck.

Downvoter, this was my point: Sticky beats grammar. (See also: Think Different.) Sorry if I was too terse to make it clear.