6 months ago we moved to using mailing lists full time for internal collaboration.
=== Mailing list setup ===
We have only 2 lists. We figured creating complex rules to filter through mail at an individual level was better than creating a large variety of lists. We are currently using groups.google.com to manage the list, it's good enough although things like the MailArchive[0] of IETF would be amazing, we just don't want to run and maintain ourselves.
=== Advantages we have found ===
0. EXCELLENT search. This is the biggest advantage of using email for everything.
1. Any tools we work with integrate into email, being 100% email native is great to keep things in one place.
2. Each individual can use the tools they prefer: thunderbird, mutt, mail.app, outlook etc.
3. Email is boring. Things like Slack are super addictive to use. Our business is not communication or collaboration. Email allows communication to take a back seat and let people work.
4. 100% asynchronous, we are all around the world. If we are excellent at writing email, makes us excellent at collaborating across the dozens of time-zones that we work in.
5. Offline first. For some, it's a great feature to be able to turn off their internet and still have access to all previous communications to conduct deep work. This system accommodates this.
=== Lost features of email ===
Things like sub-threads and bottom-posting[1] are becoming a lost art.
It is precisely these power user features of email which make it irreplaceable.
Try to find another tool which allows you to build a conversation tree that looks like this and has different parties involved at each level:
We have real-time chat in the company for absolute emergencies or tiny questions.
We have found that people tend to be so used to the quick dopamine hits of chat that they tend to abuse of the availability of chat. Policing is often required to move conversations back to email when things get complex/lengthy.
=== Mailing list setup ===
We have only 2 lists. We figured creating complex rules to filter through mail at an individual level was better than creating a large variety of lists. We are currently using groups.google.com to manage the list, it's good enough although things like the MailArchive[0] of IETF would be amazing, we just don't want to run and maintain ourselves.
=== Advantages we have found ===
0. EXCELLENT search. This is the biggest advantage of using email for everything.
1. Any tools we work with integrate into email, being 100% email native is great to keep things in one place.
2. Each individual can use the tools they prefer: thunderbird, mutt, mail.app, outlook etc.
3. Email is boring. Things like Slack are super addictive to use. Our business is not communication or collaboration. Email allows communication to take a back seat and let people work.
4. 100% asynchronous, we are all around the world. If we are excellent at writing email, makes us excellent at collaborating across the dozens of time-zones that we work in.
5. Offline first. For some, it's a great feature to be able to turn off their internet and still have access to all previous communications to conduct deep work. This system accommodates this.
=== Lost features of email ===
Things like sub-threads and bottom-posting[1] are becoming a lost art. It is precisely these power user features of email which make it irreplaceable. Try to find another tool which allows you to build a conversation tree that looks like this and has different parties involved at each level:
``` MainThread ├── Response1 │ ├── sub-thread1 │ └── sub-thread2 │ ├── Response1 │ ├── Response2 │ └── Response3 └── Response2 └── sub-thread1 ```
=== We still have chat ===
We have real-time chat in the company for absolute emergencies or tiny questions. We have found that people tend to be so used to the quick dopamine hits of chat that they tend to abuse of the availability of chat. Policing is often required to move conversations back to email when things get complex/lengthy.
[0]: https://github.com/ietf-tools/mailarchive.
[1]: https://subspace.kernel.org/etiquette.html#do-not-top-post-when-replying