Adding

Twitter has the concept of the twitter canoe - an exchange you sometimes find yourself in the middle of, where conspiracy theorists or trumpist wingnut launch into impassioned debates around you, while you sit there, grateful there's at least something in your mentions.

This has an equivalent in ordinary email: the snowballing to-all chain, made worse by the tendency to throw more unsuspecting co-workers into the canoe without warning.

Sent: 1 January 2017

From: Lawyer, Mediocre

To: Already large distribution (irritated)

CC: Already large distribution (exasperated because it wasn't even relevant to them in the first place); Bob; Chip; Chuck;

Re: Already interminable rambling chain that dates back to 2010

Adding Chip, Bob and Chuck.

How — just how — is adding Chip, Bob and Chuck to this tedious diatribe going to make things better, for them, for you, or for any of the poor saps that are stuck on it?