I do hope that
email makes a comeback.
But someones need to start maintaining it better.
Someone?
In the 1980s, I was very involved in the early Internet. At the
time, it was funded by the US government, and the policy-makers and
technologists were tightly coupled. If we didn't build what they
needed, the funding would stop. Simple and effective feedback
loop.
At the time, electronic mail was probably the most important service
for the end-users. People didn't send datagrams to each other.
They sent email. Email had to work or the Internet was useless.
A lot of effort was put into making sure that email worked, such as
the "Mailbridges" that were crucial components of the Defense Data
Network as it emerged from the research world. Policy-makers and
technologists were pursuing a common mission. The people who
funded,or built, or operated the various pieces of The Internet felt
responsible, and were responsible, for all the Internet elements
necessary for the end users to use the net.
Forty years later, email has degenerated. Why?
Question -- is Email now still an important component of Internet
service? Do IXPs believe they have a responsibility to make sure
email works?