[ih] Any suggestions for first uses of "e-mail" or "email"?

[John Klensin]

On Tue, Aug 4, 2015 at 2:02 PM, Andrew Russell <arussell at stevens.edu> wrote:
> No, we haven’t.  I (and several co-authors) made this exact point in:
>...
> … and I’m sure I’m forgetting many more similar analyses by historians, published and not, by me and by others.
>
> I would like to think that journalists and their readers would understand (or at least try to understand) that a technology can be “invented” or “developed” by one community, but a popular name for that technology can be “coined” by someone else; that priority in coinage is not necessarily causality in invention and usage (we don’t use “email" *because* Shiva A called it that in the late 70s); and that invention and innovation are not the most significant or interesting aspects of technological and social change.  But you’ll forgive me for thinking that I’m fighting a losing battle along multiple fronts.

Sorry Andy.  I've read a few of those papers and others and obviously
agree.  I construed Jack's remark as more of a reminder to those of us
who tend to focused on the Internet about the importance of looking
more broadly when some of these questions come up rather than as a
criticism of the historical community and responded on that basis.
No disrespect or implication that you folks had not been doing your
jobs intended.

    john