Accepted use.

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One of the clearest signs of the extent to which e-mail has become an integral part of our lives is the fact that the whole question of whether or not e-mail is a proper medium for a condolence message seems to have become a totally moot point. It was over eight years ago that I first asked this question, hinting that I didn't think sending condolences via e-mail was inappropriate. I wasn't sure, however, that others would agree with me. Other expressions of mourning were also still taking shape. The desire, perhaps even the craving, for community on the internet made personal interaction, on all levels, inevitable. Just as romance and sex became legitimate internet-based pursuits, the expression of participating in the mourning of someone whom we might only know through e-mail or a discussion group almost demanded to become institutionalized in some way.

As of two years ago (when I last checked), condolence e-cards were available from all the major e-card companies. It's a fair guess that if cards of that sort are available, somebody is sending them, and if somebody is sending them, sending a personal e-message to participate in someone's mourning has also become rather a standard procedure. I doubt that anyone still questions the propriety of using e-mail to express participation in someone's mourning.

But of course as soon as we become accustomed to one technology, a new one replaces it as the technology de jour. If we no longer question e-mailed condolences, perhaps we still do with SMSes, or instant messages. For our family, e-mail was a given, and the medium allowed us to be in contact with numerous people whom we might otherwise not have reached.

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