Email is not SMS

email.is-not-s.ms

4 pointsrvern2 comments

Writing long email messages is one of the last things I would consider a waste of time. I am too often left confused or wanting more information after reading short messages I receive from other people. People waste entire hours or days every month doing things that are actually a waste of time; it is there we should look if we want to have more time. Reducing the length of messages is just sloppy.

I like to read well written and thought-out email, not short SMS messages like suggested by the (two|three|four|five).sentenc.es policy.

As an author of detailed e-mails myself, here are some other advantages I've noticed:

- The act of writing up a well organized and edited e-mail really helps to clarify my thoughts on an issue. If I'm e-mailing someone to ask them a question, I'll frequently realize the answer before clicking "send".

- Both the recipient and I can save the e-mail as a reference (even a "mini spec") of what we agreed to do on a particular date. For example, if we're writing code on different sides of an API, having a detailed record of our discussion will make it more likely that our code will work together as intended.

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