January 11th, 1982, 22 computer scientists met to discuss an issue with ‘computer mail’ (now known as email).
Mailing-List 2.0: Discourse
You got a few people working on something and you seek for an efficient way to communicate (ideas, news, messages, etc.) online. This guide gives you an overview about what you could expect in the past and what you should ask for nowadays. Mails According to Wikipedia, the first mail was sent in 1971. The access to a network we call Internet today was quite limited in these early days. Users have been mostly universities, and I guess, not everyone, but mostly the STEM disciplines Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. So it comes at no surprise that mails are perceived as inconvenient and antiquated.
Email explained from first principles
Modern email is a patchwork of protocols and extensions. Here is one article to understand them all.
My Mad Quest to Fix Email Showed Me the Real Reason We Hate It
Last summer, I reached peak email despair. I started using email when I was 6 years old to keep in touch with my grandmother, and I’ve used it ever sin ...
Relative popularity of browsers from Brian Behlendorf on 1994-08-27 (www-talk@w3.org from August 1994)
This archive was generated by hypermail 3.0.0: Tuesday, 27 October 2026 23:17:49 UTC
Why kernel development still uses email
In a world full of fancy development tools and sites, the kernel project's dependence on email [...]
[httpRange-14] Resolved from Roy T. Fielding on 2005-06-19 (www-tag@w3.org from June 2005)
This archive was generated by hypermail 3.0.0: Thursday, 13 July 2023 17:54:21 UTC
How not to replace email
As of a month ago, the ApacheWave project is“retired”. Few people noticed; in the seven years that Wave was anApache Incubator open source project, it never ...
The nerds are building a new internet, and I could feel it in the room
The AT Protocol is a quiet attempt to rebuild social software the way email was built — open, portable, owned by no one. A meetup in Portland this week made the stakes feel real.
A delightfully fresh take on email + calendar, from 37signals
Gmail, Outlook, and Apple got complacent and took their eye off the ball. Then along came HEY.
Is Email Making Professors Stupid?
It used to simplify crucial tasks. Now it’s strangling scholars’ ability to think.
How It All Started: Pre-W3C Web and Internet Background
1971: Ray Tomlinson of BBN creates email program to send messages across a distributed network.
Email Doesn't Suck. It's Email Clients That Need Improving
Don't hate the technology, hate the implementation.
| Association of Internet Researchers
The 27th annual meeting of the Association of Internet Researchers will be in Mexico City, Mexico14-17 October 2026
The Attention Forum: October 23/24th 2025
The internet was initially sold to us as a force for connection – a borderless, democratizing set of technologies that would amplify voices, allow us to spread ideas, and strengthen civil society.
Falsehoods programmers believe about email
In the spirit of falsehoods programmers believe about names and time, here’s some falsehoods about email which are all too common.
Email is the new black
Many have heard the refrain, “Email is dead.” But we’re here to tell you email is here to stay. Email gets things done. When it comes to better communication, email really is the new black.
