Is signing emails really necessary? I’m not referring to digital signatures which have clear benefits. I’m referring to putting my name at the bottom of every single thing I say.
That information is already in the From: field of the header so is it really necessary to repeat it? I like it for a few reasons:
– As long as it is personally typed (not auto-inserted like so many irritatingly large signatures accumulating redundantly at the bottom of long email threads) it shows that the person really finished typing and didn’t press the Send button too soon. Minimal benefit.
– It provides a little personalization. You may sign emails differently to different recipients in different contexts.
– In a long quoted thread, especially between mail clients which don’t indicate quoted text in same exact way as each other, it shows more clearly who wrote each passage since the signature is indented with its passage.
– It’s comforting.
I’m going to try not signing email for a while.