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Why does it matter if email content changes, if that's the intention the author? Clearly one of the biggest benefits of email is that it's the only medium that

Why does it matter if email content changes, if that's the intention the author? Clearly one of the biggest benefits of email is that it's the only medium that's acceptable for memorializing agreements / decisions / roadmaps / plans / etc. At the same time, I don't really care if some clothing company's monthly marketing email changes if they run out of something, as long as it's clearly marked as ephemeral.

brongondwana 9y ago
"as long as it's clearly marked as ephemeral" - yep, you hit the nail on the head there. The ecosystem danger is that ephemeral becomes the default. Who doesn't love the ability to silently fix mistakes. And when it becomes the cultural norm to send editable email, then people will do it because it's a nice experience as a sender if you have the choice. I sure enjoy being able to edit my posts on HN when I get something wrong. I'd love to be able to take back and "fix" emails that I've sent too! But having to stand by exactly what you sent when it comes to email is really a valuable part of how email works. If you made a mistake, you send a correction, but the recipient still has your original mistake too. They don't see it, then have it disappear when they go back to look at it again.
JustSomeNobody 9y ago
I, for one, cannot wait until someone is able to alter a few words to a contract I've signed after I've signed it.
- ocdtrekkie 9y ago
  FWIW, this is effectively what tech companies already do with the Terms of Service. They state that you must agree to them to use their product, and then state that they can amend them at any time, often without notifying you.
- essayist 9y ago
  Had that happen to me. I'd "electronically signed" a PDF of a contract, and returned it to the other party with some minor questions. The other party marked up the PDF I had signed with some changes, based on my questions. All of the changes were agreeable to me (or not worth fighting about, I can't recall). But I still insisted we start with the changes made to an unsigned PDF, and then I signed that PDF with the changes. My thought was that socially/culturally green-lighting "after signature" contract changes was a path to madness and misunderstanding.

brongondwana 9y ago

"as long as it's clearly marked as ephemeral" - yep, you hit the nail on the head there. The ecosystem danger is that ephemeral becomes the default. Who doesn't love the ability to silently fix mistakes. And when it becomes the cultural norm to send editable email, then people will do it because it's a nice experience as a sender if you have the choice. I sure enjoy being able to edit my posts on HN when I get something wrong. I'd love to be able to take back and "fix" emails that I've sent too! But having to stand by exactly what you sent when it comes to email is really a valuable part of how email works. If you made a mistake, you send a correction, but the recipient still has your original mistake too. They don't see it, then have it disappear when they go back to look at it again.

JustSomeNobody 9y ago

I, for one, cannot wait until someone is able to alter a few words to a contract I've signed after I've signed it.

ocdtrekkie 9y ago
FWIW, this is effectively what tech companies already do with the Terms of Service. They state that you must agree to them to use their product, and then state that they can amend them at any time, often without notifying you.
essayist 9y ago
Had that happen to me. I'd "electronically signed" a PDF of a contract, and returned it to the other party with some minor questions. The other party marked up the PDF I had signed with some changes, based on my questions. All of the changes were agreeable to me (or not worth fighting about, I can't recall). But I still insisted we start with the changes made to an unsigned PDF, and then I signed that PDF with the changes. My thought was that socially/culturally green-lighting "after signature" contract changes was a path to madness and misunderstanding.