[ElongatedTowel]

The cycle of messanging.

"We need a way to communicate over the internet". Email was born.

"We need a way to communicate with groups". Messaging boards and mailing lists are born.

"We need a way to communicate quickly and privately". Email is now only a tool for spam, registration mails and professionalism. AIM, ICQ and MSN are born. Email lists are "when you click on that list button in Outlook" to the general public.

"We need a way to communicate on the go". Messaging boards die. People use Facebook to chat. Twitter grows. Old-style protocols can't keep up despite offering more. SMS is that thing that does exactly the same but costs money.

"We need a way to communicate with groups again". No one was using boards anymore so no one developed new and edgy alternatives. Discourse is born. Nothing new is offered, but JavaScript! Ajax! Frameworks! Apps!

"We need a way to communicate quickly and privately again". Old protocols are reinvented. Poorly. WhatApps and competitors arise. People using XMPP and OTR die of loneliness. Solved problems are solved again. Poorly. But now there's an app for that. Even on Windows Phone (never seen one in the wild).

Time to reinvent Email. Or not.