Please Stop Writing Email Like Mail

Several years ago, I started writing emails very formally. I took on a certain affectation where'd I'd use $64k words and some really elaborate verbiage to say the simplest things. And I'd have an elaborate formal opening, including a religious greeting, and I'd sign off with a formal closing plus a signature file to boot.

And I can only imagine people just rolling their eyes when they were on the receiving end of this stuff. And in fact I went back to college while I was in this phase, and so I composed a lot of emails to professors and students and staff in this formal tone. I would even use it for DMs that were supposed to be quick, easily-read messages. And eventually one of my classmates did call me out on it. He said my message was so formal he didn't even know how to respond. And I pondered what he said and I had to admit that I'd gone way over the top.

So I dropped the affectations completely and I just went back to that quick and easy, plain-English tone with most people. I do put a bit more decoration on correspondence with a few friends, because I consider them more of pen pals than anything, and I want my infrequent messages to make an impact.

But if I'm doing business with someone, or I am just sending a quick note, I dispense with all the pleasantries and I get right to the point. Because that's how email is used by everyone else these days, and there's no reason to stick out like a sore thumb (and waste people's time reading it all.)

It's a depends, isn't it?

Writing business format snail mail was usually to the point, and not a personal letter.

I've sent some emails - very concise business inquiries of a single line of the nature of - what's your company's price on x83 and x84 or is there a better product since I'm interested to do this ... but sadly a number of times have landed those who really shouldn't be in some contact area since apparently they have the attention span of a gnat - or thought I should have sent a very formal inquiry, but happy to send more advertising back to my email address.

Email is throwaway and generally hardly read. Put two or three questions in an email, get an answer to only the 1st or last. Nobody bothers to pay attention or be diligent.

So very different from snail mail? I don't know, I don't get snail mail any more and haven't for years. Except junk mail which goes straight to the burn pile.

So maybe the whole question is moot. Like, don't write email like telegrams.

Hell, email is nearly obsolete. Younger generations don't hardly use it.

I think the OP is saying to use email to deliver slack messages.

If you don't want to use email like email, use something like slack or IRC or teams.

Though... reading the comments it's clear people have radically different ideas about what email is for. Probably nothing wrong with that; MSFT's not going to be able to market the next version of teams/skype/outlook if we all agree what our comms channels are for.