# Are Email and Print a thing of the past? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 11, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172 "2014-05-11T03:22:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/1 "2014-05-11T03:22:15Z")
Has the “social media” elite 😉 decreed that email is no longer relevant? Seems as if many (most?) web pages these days have a little line of icons at the top and/or bottom of the page so that you can _tweet_ on twitter, _like_ on facebook, _smoogle_ (or something) on google+, or _pin it_ somewhere. Oh, wait there’s an icon for _share_, maybe that’s email… nope, that’s linkedin. :smack: Would it really be that hard to put a damn envelope icon there for email? That’s a rhetorical question. Is the website getting a little bit of money for those clicks on those icons for “for profit” enterprises? I know it’s not that hard to copy a link and send it from your email client, but a one-click option would be nice. And here’s a bonus question. In the olden days it was nice to see an increasing number of web pages with a _print_ option to format and remove extra graphics, ads, etc. to allow mostly text only printing. Now, if anything, that _print_ button is getting rarer. Do the site owners and advertisers think I will happily use $1 of ink so I have an ad printed about how I can save 25 cents on toilet paper? Instead I have to go through trying to select text with as little extra stuff as possible and then carefully check print preview to make sure it’s formatted half way decently. The ink cartridges for my two HP printers are priced liked liquid gold. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/2 "2014-05-11T03:28:34Z")
The print button is going because most people don’t print web pages. If they want to view the web page they view the web page. Email is here to stay. It’s in decreasing use socially but if anything it is increasing in use in business, which is moving (moved, really) away from letter and fax rapidly. ---
**Author:** ![ralfy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ralfy/32/600_2.png) [@ralfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralfy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/3 "2014-05-11T03:30:44Z")
This might not be the case globally if it is true that more than 60 pct of human beings earn only a few dollars a day, and thus lack access to one or more basic needs. ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/4 "2014-05-11T03:40:13Z")
Who emails links to webpages? If I got an email like that, I certainly wouldn’t click the link. People like that are the same people who send you FW:fw:fw:fw emails. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/5 "2014-05-11T03:43:31Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > Who emails links to webpages? If I got an email like that, I certainly wouldn’t click the link. People like that are the same people who send you FW:fw:fw:fw emails. Business do, all the time. Like Princhester said, email still gets used quite a bit for businesses. More than faxes ever did because it’s so much more convenient. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/6 "2014-05-11T03:47:12Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > Who emails links to webpages? If I got an email like that, I certainly wouldn’t click the link. People like that are the same people who send you FW:fw:fw:fw emails. People who work for a living, or people who have actual friends with common interests. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/7 "2014-05-11T03:47:26Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > Who emails links to webpages? If I got an email like that, I certainly wouldn’t click the link. People like that are the same people who send you FW:fw:fw:fw emails. I do all the time, but it’s to people I know and usually I put a clue as to what it is so it doesn’t look like one of those web page email links you get when someone’s email account gets hacked. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/8 "2014-05-11T04:04:06Z")
Is this a generational thing? Do younger folks stick to social networks and the older people use email? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/9 "2014-05-11T04:06:52Z")
Moved to IMHO from GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/10 "2014-05-11T04:10:41Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > Who emails links to webpages? If I got an email like that, I certainly wouldn’t click the link. People like that are the same people who send you FW:fw:fw:fw emails. Heh. I’m old enough to remember “chain letters” (look it up). I hated those and I hate emails that are mindlessly passed on and on to endless recipients. But I don’t see how sharing the _occasional_ email with one or a few people is any different than sharing something via newer social media. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/11 "2014-05-11T04:16:42Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Moved to IMHO from GQ. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator That’s fine, I thought that perhaps it might sound more like it should be in IMHO. However, I am still interested if anyone has a (semi) factual answer or opinion as to _"Would it really be that hard to put a damn envelope icon there for email? That’s a rhetorical question. Is the website getting a little bit of money for those clicks on those icons for “for profit” enterprises?.. a one-click option would be nice. "_ ETA: the second part of that. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/12 "2014-05-11T04:20:35Z")
Anyway, emailing a link to a webpage is a function of the browser. Just click File and select email link to this page. Safari will even let you email the contents of the page. Only takes two clicks and no copy-paste required. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/13 "2014-05-11T04:36:37Z")
The “social media” elite are twits, which is why they tweet. Laugh at, and if possible, ridicule them. Email is crucial for employer/employee\<-employee-\> communication and employee/customer communication. You’re gonna replace email with tweets? Printing is fading fast but isn’t going away. The “Cloud” is definitely becoming dominant in business. Our company moved to Google Drive and Gmail (good-bye Microsoft exchange. _Never_ thought I’d see that day) and its nice. Because of the cloud I can see where laptops and desktops go away for many, but not all, in favor of Chromebooks. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/14 "2014-05-11T04:39:29Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > Because of the cloud I can see where laptops and desktops go away for many, but not all, in favor of Chromebooks. Thin clients and mainframes. Everything old is new again. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/15 "2014-05-11T04:54:27Z")
The removal of the “print frendly version” link refers to how fewer people actually do print. More people will simply link to share than bother to print. OTOH the share-buttons are now so prevalent because so many people have the social-net presence be their primary presence and use it rather promiscuously, continuing to obliviously make it easier for the data miners: e.g. Comments sections where you are invited to use your SocNet identity to enter the conversation (thus reporting your browsing habits very efficiently). > [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > Who emails links to webpages? If I got an email like that, I certainly wouldn’t click the link. People like that are the same people who send you FW:fw:fw:fw emails. The question part of the post has been answered in both stately and snarky manner, so there. (I’m one of the “who”, for the reasons mentioned) As to the last comment, it seems like years since I have seen a FW:fw:FW:fw: go through my e-mailbox. The people who used to do that seem to now be the ones spreading lame “like if you care” and obvious hoax shares on social sites. Oh, and you can have my device on which I can create useful work and peruse a recorded entertainmnt while not connected to any network, and my data storage physically in my presence and under my custody, when you pry them off my cold, dead USB hub… ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/16 "2014-05-11T05:23:55Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Anyway, emailing a link to a webpage is a function of the browser. Just click File and select email link to this page. Safari will even let you email the contents of the page. Only takes two clicks and no copy-paste required. I have IE, Chrome, and Firefox installed. IE and Firefox have a menu bar available which allows you to do as you described. When I started using Chrome, I wondered “where’s my menu bar?” After a while I figured out that the pancake stack button takes the place of some of the menu bar functions in other browsers. But I see no way to do the equivalent of “file, email link”. It’s really not a big deal for me since I don’t have a need to email a link that often, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/17 "2014-05-11T05:45:22Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Thin clients and mainframes. Everything old is new again. E-x-a-c-t-l-y. That was my first thought when hearing about this “new” paradigm a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/18 "2014-05-11T06:16:57Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > People who work for a living, . . . This is the crux of the issue. The “social media elite,” and this notion of an intrinsically ever more digitally connected -“younger folk,” are myths which the traditional media have constructed. What we really have are just people with a lot of time on their hands. That tends to be younger people (in school), but retired people are just as likely to engage in such behavior. When most people grow up–and get full employment, not to mention children, etc.–they find that they can’t afford to squander as much time on the things like the icons mentioned in the OP. They usually also start to use computers more to get stuff done, instead of dicking around on Facebook. This means creating and sending documents, etc., by email, and printing things that need to be read in non-digital contexts. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/19 "2014-05-11T11:35:32Z")
Never mind printing stuff. I often appreciated the “Print” button because it shows you the same text in a much cleaner no-frills (or less-frills) format, with much less clutter. You get more text on the screen that you actually want to read. Reading articles on-screen is often much easier. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172/20 "2014-05-11T12:32:40Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > Who emails links to webpages? If I got an email like that, I certainly wouldn’t click the link. People like that are the same people who send you FW:fw:fw:fw emails. So if you’re looking at something on the web, and you want to share that page with someone, how do you get it to them? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-email-and-print-a-thing-of-the-past/688172.md?page=2)