TIL: Email Considered Harmful

I am a big fan of emails. The history and the software infrastructure we built just for sending, receiving, and validating emails facsinate me.

I also love it as a way of communication, and I use it as way to propose solutions and resolve conflicts, to avoid the potential awkward and uncomfortable face-to-face conversations.

Email is formal and indirect, which means you have no control of how it's interpreted, and you cannot clarify misunderstandings in real time.

People, when they're emotional, only see what they want to see, and they will interpret your email in the worst possible way.

To avoid this from happening, sending long emails should be avoided when you think it can be misinterpreted, in favor of a face-to-face conversation or a phone call.