Abstract

Email is one of the most successful computer applications yet devised. Our empirical data show however, that although email was origirally designed as a communications application, it is now used for additional functions, that it was not designed for, such as task management and personal archiving. We call this email overload. We demonstrate that email overload creates problems for personal information management: users often have cluttered inboxes containing hundreds of messages, including outstanding tasks, partially read documents and conversational threads. Furthermore, user attemtps to rationalise their inboxes by filing are often unsuccessful, with the consequence that important messages get overlooked, or "lost" in archives. We explain how email overloading arises and propose technical solutions to the problem.

Citations