133
Email is still great for DMs if you only use it for talking to individuals, and not to sign up to things
(self.showerthoughts)
this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2024
133 points (95.2% liked)
Showerthoughts
29959 readers
1448 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- Avoid politics
- 3.1) NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out
- 3.2) Political posts often end up being circle jerks (not offering unique perspective) or enflaming (too much work for mods).
- 3.3) Try c/politicaldiscussion, volunteer as a mod here, or start your own community.
- Posts must be original/unique
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
why people have moved from email to im is beyond me.
one gives up topical conversation threads with relevant aubject lines, easier search and retrieval, thread-specific groups and readers, more robust spam-filtration, the lack of necessity of a phone number, more flexible options for cross-platform access, downloadability of your messages, options to host your own server, and so on.
in return, you get perhaps a tad more convenience from an im -- even that is debatable, though.
it's high time we all returned to the friendly envelope instead of the intrusive chat bubble.
edit: another benefit: with email, you can still communicate with people who've chosen a different email platform. they don't have to have the same domain as your email provider.
The IM format is meant to be more conversational. Do you tag and categorize the conversations you have with people IRL? Probably (and hopefully) not. That's the sort of comms that IM is meant for.
Both have their place, IMO. And it's not like if you can only choose one or the other, anyway.
that's a whole other angle; one which i avoided altogether.
but i do converse in different contexts on different topics. i do like to recall things in an easier manner. i do like to do all the other things i listed in my OC.
im may have started as a conversational tool, but it's pervaded every aspect of our lives now to such an extent that "whatsapp me" has become a generecised verb. in that process, as society, we've forgotten the benefits of email.
It's convenience. That's really it. And I don't like to admit it, but that level of inconvenience is too high for me to try using it that way.
It's simpler to type a quick a text without needing a subject line. Also internet messaging is usually more secure because even though email now usually uses TLS it stored on your email providers server without encryption. Using apps like Signal this is not the case (texting still is unencrypted or proprietary though).