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

[John R. Levine]

> 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, ...

I know lots of people who use DM for direct message, i.e., instant message 
like WhatsApp or or iMessage or Signal or Facebook Messenger or the 
similar feature in Slack.

I have never, ever, heard anyone use DM to refer to e-mail.

R's,
John

> 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?