Correspondence and diaries

[Englishuser]

Hi,

Do you still write letters? Do you keep a diary? What do you do with your e-mails once you have read and perhaps even replied them?

Englishuser

[Torsten]

Hi Englishuser,

Thanks a lot for asking such interesting questions. As for me, I used to write quite a lot of letters before I bought a computer. I remember that back then, I was fascinated by the idea that I would be able to write a letter on my computer and send it to its recipient via fax without having to print it off. A little later I discovered that I could even send electronic mail and ever since I have been communicating via the Internet quite a lot. I do write the occasional when I want to say something very personal. As for diaries, I've been running our blog -- every single entry of which has been amended and edited by Alan and I intend to keep it up. Your final question is what I do with my emails once I have read and answered them. Fortunately, there is Google who make it possible for me to keep all my emails on their server so I can access them any time I want. Apart from spam I keep most the emails I receive in case I have to look something up later. Again, Gmail does an excellent job here...
What about you, do you keep a diary and what do you do with your emails once you have read and answered them?
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[Englishuser]

Hi Torsten,

Many thanks for your reply. Perhaps I had better answer my own questions as well?

Yes, I still write letters, although I don't do it as much as I used to before my first e-mail account was created. I think e-mail is a good means of communication, but just like you, I stick to letters when writing something very personal. I think letters are more personal than e-mails as you actually get to touch the paper the sender has touched, you get to see their signature, and so on.

I don't keep a diary on a regular basis, however, I make some personal notes when I find it necessary. It might be nice to keep a diary; I just haven't begun it yet. I think webblogs are excellent, too, but I often find electronic documents somewhat less "permanent" than paper documents.

As for my e-mails, I keep "less important" messages for 10 years, whereas more important messages are filed. I keep all my e-mail messages on my computer (I somehow don't trust multinational companies enough to let them take care of my private archives); later on, important e-mails will most likely be transferred to the National Archives in my country, either as electronic documents or as print-outs. It would also be possible to microfilm my correspondence, of course.

Englishuser