Comments on: How to read your email http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/ Tips and add-ons to make Apple Mail / Mail.app even better Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:23:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Jack P Toerson http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/comment-page-1/#comment-3049 Jack P Toerson Tue, 25 Apr 2006 22:03:12 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/#comment-3049 I think the problem with a subject heading is that often their is no agreed upon or mutual understanding of what it may mean. Unless the language is very staid. Of course mailing lists often add square bracketed tags to their outgoing mail, but that's really an identifier of source rather than content; the mailing list may have been spammed. If there were an agreed upon urgency weighting for various terms in subject headers it would be a different case. Although it's still pretty flawed because they rely on the user supplying the correct information. The number of Viagra requests I get that are marked urgent is phenominal, and have no erectile problems. I suppose someone could digitally sign a messages priority and the recipient were only to trust authenticated priorities the spam 'false-priority' syndrome may be somewhat limited. However the priority would have to be concatenated with a message digest prior to signing to stop people cutting and pasting priorities from a authentic message to a forgery. But then there's the problem of people who may not have public keys available or are malicious users who have public keys. There's no way enough people signing each-others keys to rely on a sense of trust. Almost everything I think of in this regard leads to another question, and I'm not very technical, and I haven't entirely thought it through. I'm just tossing ideas to the wind. Thanks for the reply. I think the problem with a subject heading is that often their is no agreed upon or mutual understanding of what it may mean. Unless the language is very staid. Of course mailing lists often add square bracketed tags to their outgoing mail, but that’s really an identifier of source rather than content; the mailing list may have been spammed. If there were an agreed upon urgency weighting for various terms in subject headers it would be a different case.

Although it’s still pretty flawed because they rely on the user supplying the correct information. The number of Viagra requests I get that are marked urgent is phenominal, and have no erectile problems. I suppose someone could digitally sign a messages priority and the recipient were only to trust authenticated priorities the spam ‘false-priority’ syndrome may be somewhat limited. However the priority would have to be concatenated with a message digest prior to signing to stop people cutting and pasting priorities from a authentic message to a forgery.

But then there’s the problem of people who may not have public keys available or are malicious users who have public keys. There’s no way enough people signing each-others keys to rely on a sense of trust. Almost everything I think of in this regard leads to another question, and I’m not very technical, and I haven’t entirely thought it through. I’m just tossing ideas to the wind. Thanks for the reply.

]]> By: sjk http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/comment-page-1/#comment-3040 sjk Tue, 25 Apr 2006 21:45:22 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/#comment-3040 Are you suggesting tags for outgoing messages, Jack? I don't see how that really adds value beyond what you can already do by simply adding freeform tag-like info to the Subject header. Are you suggesting tags for outgoing messages, Jack? I don’t see how that really adds value beyond what you can already do by simply adding freeform tag-like info to the Subject header.

]]> By: Jack P Toerson http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/comment-page-1/#comment-2998 Jack P Toerson Tue, 25 Apr 2006 15:40:36 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/#comment-2998 The simple answer would be to implement tags for email. There could be a 'nasty surprise tag', an 'ebullient praise' tag and a 'this isn't important' tag. The standard priority header isn't descriptive enough and is over-used. Thanks for the link :-). - Jack The simple answer would be to implement tags for email. There could be a ‘nasty surprise tag’, an ‘ebullient praise’ tag and a ‘this isn’t important’ tag. The standard priority header isn’t descriptive enough and is over-used.

Thanks for the link :-).

- Jack

]]> By: Tim http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/comment-page-1/#comment-2904 Tim Tue, 25 Apr 2006 07:55:47 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/#comment-2904 Well, you learn something every day. :) I didn't know that. Well, you learn something every day. :)

I didn’t know that.

]]> By: sjk http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/comment-page-1/#comment-2878 sjk Tue, 25 Apr 2006 04:22:06 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/#comment-2878 Ahh, 'tis simply a difference in our <a href="http://www.acronymfinder.com/acronym.aspx?rec={97C3BD3E-89E8-11D4-8351-00C04FC2C2BF}" rel="nofollow">FIFO</a> (me) vs. <a href="http://www.acronymfinder.com/acronym.aspx?rec={8DFA0945-89E8-11D4-8351-00C04FC2C2BF}" rel="nofollow">LIFO</a> (you) preferences. :) Ahh, ’tis simply a difference in our FIFO (me) vs. LIFO (you) preferences. :)

]]> By: Tim http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/comment-page-1/#comment-2831 Tim Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:29:49 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/#comment-2831 Naturally, being a top-poster, I am perverse about this too. I like me newest at the top. It's like working through the in-tray from the top to the bottom. Naturally, being a top-poster, I am perverse about this too.

I like me newest at the top. It’s like working through the in-tray from the top to the bottom.

]]> By: sjk http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/comment-page-1/#comment-2828 sjk Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:12:53 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/#comment-2828 <blockquote>How do you know if the newer ones deserve more immediate attention unless you read them first?</blockquote> Intuition? :) The sender/subject/date of newer messages can of course be a clue. And priority depends on the content; you might be anticipating personal/business messages whereas mailing list traffic is typically unpredictable. It's an ongoing readjustment of context-dependent attention focus. <blockquote>I like newest messages to appear at the bottom.</blockquote> Same here. Not possible with Gmail, being one of several key reasons I'm not comfortable using that service.

How do you know if the newer ones deserve more immediate attention unless you read them first?

Intuition? :)
The sender/subject/date of newer messages can of course be a clue. And priority depends on the content; you might be anticipating personal/business messages whereas mailing list traffic is typically unpredictable. It’s an ongoing readjustment of context-dependent attention focus.

I like newest messages to appear at the bottom.

Same here. Not possible with Gmail, being one of several key reasons I’m not comfortable using that service.

]]> By: Hoby http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/comment-page-1/#comment-2823 Hoby Mon, 24 Apr 2006 21:26:28 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/#comment-2823 I read oldest to newest most of the time. I don't run into dilemma because I see others in thread via the list view. What I think is more of an interesting preference, is whether people like to have newer messages at the top of the list window or at the bottom. I like newest messages to appear at the bottom. I read oldest to newest most of the time. I don’t run into dilemma because I see others in thread via the list view.

What I think is more of an interesting preference, is whether people like to have newer messages at the top of the list window or at the bottom.

I like newest messages to appear at the bottom.

]]> By: Tony Meyer http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/comment-page-1/#comment-2737 Tony Meyer Fri, 21 Apr 2006 23:03:14 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/#comment-2737 This is where a mailer that organises mail nicely by thread is so important, because you can at least see that there is later message (e.g. it's not 100 emails down the list). I read oldest-to-newest, because that makes most sense, but complete reading (the thread) before replying/actioning. This is where a mailer that organises mail nicely by thread is so important, because you can at least see that there is later message (e.g. it’s not 100 emails down the list).

I read oldest-to-newest, because that makes most sense, but complete reading (the thread) before replying/actioning.

]]> By: Tim http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/comment-page-1/#comment-2736 Tim Fri, 21 Apr 2006 22:38:23 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/04/21/oldest-to-newest-email-or-vice-versa/#comment-2736 <blockquote>I normally read mail, news, etc. oldest-to-newest unless newer items deserve more immediate attention or clearly supersede older ones that can be skipped and/or deleted.</blockquote>That's the bind, isn't it? How do you know if the newer ones deserve more immediate attention unless you read them first?

I normally read mail, news, etc. oldest-to-newest unless newer items deserve more immediate attention or clearly supersede older ones that can be skipped and/or deleted.

That’s the bind, isn’t it?

How do you know if the newer ones deserve more immediate attention unless you read them first?

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