Google Spam counter
I hate having a counter next to my spam folder in gmail and someone thought of an easy fix for me (since customizegoogle can’t figure it out with the new gmail)…
Simply create a new filter, with the phrase is:spam then mark as read. Done!
For people who don’t want that spam to get deleted in that manner, I use a firefox addin called Stylish. There are templates that remove the counter for you.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2108
The method I presented doesn’t delete the spam, it simply marks it as read so the counter disappears. You can still check your spam contents at any time. They delete as Gmail normally does over time.