[ih] deterioration of email (was Re: clever usc creation)

[Miles Fidelman]

Ahh for the days of news-mail gateways & mmdf - everything in 622 format, different channels, your choice of interface tool

And then we had people fracture the net, to capture markets, and others duplicate irc & txt msgs in umpteen different ways, to escape corporate control and all that

Yet the business world, the IETF, and open source projects still rely on basic email and lists, and most social media platforms will send an email to let you know to come look T a new post

Sent from Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
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________________________________
From: Internet-history <internet-history-bounces at elists.isoc.org> on behalf of Jack Haverty via Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org>
Sent: Wednesday, 29 July 2026 18:34:05
To: Greg Skinner <gregskinner0 at icloud.com>
Cc: internet-history at elists.isoc.org <internet-history at elists.isoc.org>
Subject: Re: [ih] deterioration of email (was Re: clever usc creation)

I have accounts on a few social media sites and saw "DM" on one of
them.  Probably Facebook.  I think it is jargon for Direct Message,
which is a private communication between two people -- just like
traditional email.

On 7/29/26 11:52, Greg Skinner wrote:
> On Jul 29, 2026, at 11:37 AM, Jack Haverty via Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>> On 7/29/26 11:28, John R. Levine wrote:
>>> Huh, never heard anyone use "email" to mean that.
>> There's new jargon.  It took me a while to realize that "DM me!" meant the same as "send me an email", but required using the recipient's chosen system for communicating with others.
>> /Jack
>>
> Odd.  I have never heard or seen this.  When I see or hear “DM”, “PM”, or the like, the “M” refers to messaging, not email.  Some people use “inbox” as a synonym for “message”.
>
> Out of curiosity, where do you see or hear this?
>
> --gregbo
>
>