4 ms·

> My message to you is right there in the same thread in my client. Don't send it back to me. Dozens of times a day I add someone to the cc list when I'm reply

by CPLX 9y ago

> My message to you is right there in the same thread in my client. Don't send it back to me. Dozens of times a day I add someone to the cc list when I'm replying to an email. I suspect most people that have an assistant (or are one, or collaborate with others in general) do this constantly. It's an incredibly common use case. Should we all abandon this very common behavior in order to avoid your scorn?

scbrg 9y ago
> Dozens of times a day I add someone to the cc list Incidentally, your daily dosage coincides with the amount of times I've had to do the same thing at all since I started using email some twenty five years ago. > It's an incredibly common use case For some, perhaps. On the other hand, I'd suggest that another, at least for me more common use case is to know exactly what is being replied to. Which is possible with proper quoting, rather than the let's-just-slap-on-your-entire-message-at-the-bottom-and-hope-you're-a-mind-reader nonsense.
- CPLX 9y ago
  Incredibly common use case: 1) Hi there I have a request for a meeting or phone call, or need something from your organization. 2) Great, I'm copying my assistant who will schedule this, or the other person in the company who knows the answer to your question, who I have now handed this task off to nearly instantly and seamlessly.
- _acme 9y ago
  If you don't cc people all the time, I can't believe you've used email for any business purpose.
wahern 9y ago
With inline quoting the relevant content of the conversation is immediately and easily discernible. You may Cc people with a whole copy of the thread, but IME nobody bothers reading through. For one thing, it's in reverse order so very difficult to follow. OTOH, inline quoting was always destined to fail. It requires that you purposefully and carefully edit and reply in the appropriate places. That's asking too much of the vast majority of people. B
wahern 9y ago
With inline quoting the relevant content of the conversation is immediately and easily discernible. You may Cc people with a whole copy of the thread at the bottom, but IME nobody bothers reading through. For one thing, it's in reverse order so very difficult to follow. It will also contain all the irrelevant parts of the discussion, which in a long thread will be the vast majority of the quote, thus making it even more burdensome to wade through. Part-and-parcel of inline quoting is pruning. OTOH, inline quoting was always destined to fail. It requires that one purposefully and carefully edit the thread and reply in the appropriate place. That's asking too much of the vast majority of people. Perhaps it could have been preserved to a greater extent had Microsoft Outlook not effectively forced bottom quoting, but alas that ship sailed decades ago. -- A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation. Q: Why is top posting frowned upon? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in email?
Gracana 9y ago
I don't think that copying an entire email thread to someone is an effective way of communicating. It's just a way to cover your ass. If you try to choose your words carefully and explain the situation to your recipient, then you have to take some responsibility for their understanding. If you just copy them the 200 prior emails, you've "done your job." The responsibility to understand is now theirs. This is a great strategy for protecting yourself in business, but it makes everything slower and more difficult for everyone else.
- CPLX 9y ago
  > This is a great strategy for protecting yourself in business Yup. I believe you've reinforced my point.
- whoami_nr 9y ago
  >If you try to choose your words carefully and explain the situation to your recipient Not always. Sometimes it's just easier to communicate the context by just copying them the thread. It might lead to shorter mails and less explaining.

by CPLX 9y ago

scbrg 9y ago

> Dozens of times a day I add someone to the cc list Incidentally, your daily dosage coincides with the amount of times I've had to do the same thing at all since I started using email some twenty five years ago. > It's an incredibly common use case For some, perhaps. On the other hand, I'd suggest that another, at least for me more common use case is to know exactly what is being replied to. Which is possible with proper quoting, rather than the let's-just-slap-on-your-entire-message-at-the-bottom-and-hope-you're-a-mind-reader nonsense.

CPLX 9y ago
Incredibly common use case: 1) Hi there I have a request for a meeting or phone call, or need something from your organization. 2) Great, I'm copying my assistant who will schedule this, or the other person in the company who knows the answer to your question, who I have now handed this task off to nearly instantly and seamlessly.
_acme 9y ago
If you don't cc people all the time, I can't believe you've used email for any business purpose.

wahern 9y ago

With inline quoting the relevant content of the conversation is immediately and easily discernible. You may Cc people with a whole copy of the thread, but IME nobody bothers reading through. For one thing, it's in reverse order so very difficult to follow. OTOH, inline quoting was always destined to fail. It requires that you purposefully and carefully edit and reply in the appropriate places. That's asking too much of the vast majority of people. B

wahern 9y ago

With inline quoting the relevant content of the conversation is immediately and easily discernible. You may Cc people with a whole copy of the thread at the bottom, but IME nobody bothers reading through. For one thing, it's in reverse order so very difficult to follow. It will also contain all the irrelevant parts of the discussion, which in a long thread will be the vast majority of the quote, thus making it even more burdensome to wade through. Part-and-parcel of inline quoting is pruning. OTOH, inline quoting was always destined to fail. It requires that one purposefully and carefully edit the thread and reply in the appropriate place. That's asking too much of the vast majority of people. Perhaps it could have been preserved to a greater extent had Microsoft Outlook not effectively forced bottom quoting, but alas that ship sailed decades ago. -- A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation. Q: Why is top posting frowned upon? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in email?

Gracana 9y ago

I don't think that copying an entire email thread to someone is an effective way of communicating. It's just a way to cover your ass. If you try to choose your words carefully and explain the situation to your recipient, then you have to take some responsibility for their understanding. If you just copy them the 200 prior emails, you've "done your job." The responsibility to understand is now theirs. This is a great strategy for protecting yourself in business, but it makes everything slower and more difficult for everyone else.

CPLX 9y ago
> This is a great strategy for protecting yourself in business Yup. I believe you've reinforced my point.
whoami_nr 9y ago
>If you try to choose your words carefully and explain the situation to your recipient Not always. Sometimes it's just easier to communicate the context by just copying them the thread. It might lead to shorter mails and less explaining.