> email still has two key advantages Three, actually; the third is that email is an asynchronous, store-and-forward system. That feature makes it unsuitable as

> email still has two key advantages Three, actually; the third is that email is an asynchronous, store-and-forward system. That feature makes it unsuitable as the basis for an "instant chat" system. It also makes it challenging to put e2e encryption on email. Asynchrony is the feature I most value in email. I can send you a message if you're in the bath, if your device is switched off, or if you're AFK for the next 3 months. You can read it on your desktop, mobile device, or in a web cafe. I don't use chat, and I don't like SMS (which anyway only works with a SIM, so on a mobile phone; and your identity is tied to a specific SIM). The problems with email, as I see it, are: - text/html. HTML email has always sucked. It's the devil to craft HTML that works in programs like Outlook. And it's full of vulnerabilities. - Encryption. You can't e2e-encrypt email headers, because they're needed by intermediate nodes for routing. GPG/PGP has a horrible trust model, that deters people from using it (I've never really looked into S/MIME).