So many ideas in the email space… here’s one more:
Steven Johnson has an idea: “It would be a huge help to me if my email software would automatically organize incoming messages based on 1) whether I’ve responded to the sender before, and 2) on average how quickly I’ve responded to the sender in the past. So what I imagine is a kind of fuzzy inbox: a message from a complete stranger would stay in my inbox for a week, before getting bounced to the archives. A message from someone I once responded to would stay for two weeks, while a message from a regular correspondent wouldn’t leave the inbox until I removed it myself. Effectively, what I want are filters based on the history of my email interaction with specific people: prioritize mail from people I always respond to immediately; demote mail from people I ignore. Has anybody seen software that will do this?” [E M E R G I C . o r g]