Dictionary definition of “email bankruptcy”

email bankruptcy

n. choosing to delete, archive, or ignore a very large number of email messages without ever reading them, replying to each with a unique response, or otherwise acting individually on them. Subjects: English, Online, Technology

Editorial Note: Although Lawrence Lessig is often credited with coining this term, at best he can be said only to have popularized it, as shown by the earlier citations. Often, email bankruptcy includes sending a blanket announcement to the senders of all unread email explaining that they will never receive a personal, specific response.

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Citations: 2002 Constance Rosenblum New York Times (Feb. 14) “In Lost E-Mail, a Dividend” p. G6: Dr. Turkle said that in her research on people’s relationship with computation, she hears more and more about a fantasy she calls “e-mail bankruptcy,” a fantasy that she sometimes shares. “In my case,” she said, “when I feel that “doing my e-mail’ is taking me away from the people and the work that I care about, I might declare bankruptcy.” The senders of the thousand or so pieces of e-mail in her In basket would receive an automatic message saying something like: “Thank you for your message. Unfortunately, my unread mail has become too numerous for me to process and much of it may by now be out of date. I will not be replying to any of my current messages. If you still need to contact me, please send a new message.” 2003 [Tuesday Knight ] Usenet: alt.religion.wicca (Oct. 22) “Re: PING Tuesday”: Is there such a thing as email bankruptcy so you can start clean and not owe anyone anything anymore? 2004 Michael Fitzgerald Wired (June 7) “Call It the Dead E-Mail Office”: If you’ve been waiting for internet legal visionary Lawrence Lessig to reply to your e-mail, forget about it. In a script-driven note sent out last week, Lessig wrote: “Dear person who sent me a yet-unanswered e-mail, I apologize, but I am declaring e-mail bankruptcy.” 2005 Fred Wilson A VC (New York City) (May 3) “Email Holiday”: I got a lot of comments on my drowning in email post from several weeks ago. Jerry suggested I declare email bankruptcy which I seriously considered. 2006 Charlie O'Donnell This is going to be BIG (Jan. 4) “How I went from 3000 e-mails in my inbox to less than 200 catagorized ones”: I’ve blogged before about the stupidity of inbox limits, but most people face them so a lot of people are nearing the need to declare e-mail bankruptcy. (That’s what happens when you just delete your whole inbox and start over.) 2007 Mike Musgrove Washington Post (May 24) “E-Mail Reply to All: ‘Leave Me Alone’”: The term “e-mail bankruptcy” may have been coined as early as 1999 by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who studies the relationship between people and technology. Professor Sherry Turkle said she came up with the concept after researching e-mail and discovering that some people harbor fantasies about escaping their e-mail burden.

Posted 30 Apr 07 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

That’s a brilliant idea…
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[delete]
[auto-reply]: “Sorry, I will not be answering any more email this year. This applies retrospectively as well. Adam”

by Adam R. 15 Aug 07, 1040 GMT