(Up to: Ideas For EMail Client Integration Functionally Focused Interfaces Interfaces Viral Group Blog )

It's not enough to merely consider e-mail client interface improvements. We also need to consider how the e-mail protocol interacts with data, if it is to work as I intend, muahaha. Something to do with the fact that ILike Dirt In Theory?

Points to note about e-mail as a protocol:

• Technically, it is basically an open protocol, in that we can send and receive anything in the form, of text. The fact that we can use our own natural language tuition as a form of command-set is useful, but also merely a subset of possibilities. This makes e-mail flexible to the point where we can make it exceptionally simple and quick to use.
• On top of an open layer, we can add more specific information in the shape of formal mail headers. Any mail header can be used to filter, and thus pertain to a command, but the useful ones are "To" and "Subject". For practical reasons, it makes sense not to twist other fields to mena things that they shouldn't, and as such any further information should go into the mail body. Ick. However, there's no reason why custom headers couldn't be supported, for mail clients that allow them.
• E-Mail moves the level of assistance by the system to one of response, rather than prompting. Thus, initial documentation could be provided through either a webpage, or via mail on "sign-up" to a system. Further help can be provided through the mails from the system.

The prepare-send mechanism of e-mail means that it encourages actions to be prepared, and then sent, in the same way. This means that:

• The user must be sure that they can get the format correct first and every time. This can be achieved through:

  • Reference documentation to-hand
  • Easy-to-remember syntax
  • "Fuzzy" command interpretation that caters more to a natural language approach

• The system becomes more susceptible to "batch" processes, i.e. allowing an (infinite?) amount of separate commands to be performed in one e-mail.

• E-mails can then be generated automatically by scripts/webpages/etc.

Authentication

Top-level encryption could be used between the systems in the form of PGP/GPG. Simpler authentication is through obscurity (ick) - by checking for certain "From" fields.

Cool, IMDB has an e-mail interface that must date way back...