Separating discussion threads are inevitable in group discussions via e-mail. Some contributions refer to a statement which has been answered by a group member long ago. Other contributions cannot be matched at all. Due to the separation of individual contributions in different messages, it is impossible to maintain an overview of the whole discussion or to keep all contributions in a chronological order or in context to each other. A simple example: Try to arrange a meeting with five persons via e-mail.

An emerging problem, above all in projects, is the habit to send information to everyone which might be concerned. The reason for this: It is easy to hand over responsibility, “You ought to know. I also sent the message to you.“ By sending an e-mail the sender is absolved from responsibility. If the message is actually delivered (i.e. read and understood) is the receiver's business.

Subsequently, more and more e-mails arrive in the inbox which cannot be designated as spam in a narrower sense but which cannot be handled anymore once a certain amount has been reached and are thus ignored. The original intention, that is to inform the receiver, is not fulfilled anymore.

An important part of teamwork is the co-operative work on central documents (reports, articles, tables etc.). On many occasions, e-mail is used for this. Someone develops a draft, fowards it, another person adds something, a third person corrects and some other person comments – what he or she comments on is usually unclear at that time.
It is nearly impossible to manage the different versions and to ensure that each team member accesses the most current version.

Moreover, the sending of documents per e-mail means that each receiver is responsible for storing, organising and saving them. This refers to an amount of work which should not be underestimated and which concerns each team member individually.
A central repository could offer effective support (see chapter IV.b "Internet platforms").

One final remark, e-mails are sent uncoded in most cases which means that they can be read on each server they pass. Transferred to classical mail, the e-mail actually corresponds to postcards and not to letters enclosed in envelopes.

The disadvantages of working with e-mails described above bring about a decrease of acceptance in professional usage.

In the meantime, the main goal is the reduction of the number of received messages to a bearable amount. The appropriate usage of the instrument e-mail can make a significant contribution.