TIL: Outlook now supports reactions to mails in the form of icons. Think: like/smile/cry/heart/etc.

Just like reactions to messages in any given chat application.

Don't get me wrong, I like and welcome this feature. It's just surprising to see this in... mail.

Quite handy for sending something like a positive read receipt instead of writing the whole incantation of dear Dingus, thank you for your email this that yipyap greetings anon

😂

So can you now send middle finger instead of fuck you? Then you can say: oh man, selected wrong emoji, sorry.

Reminds me of error message that say "Woopsie daisy. We crashy washied. :3" instead of showing the error message.

It's incredibly offputting and unprofessional.

And how does it work? Are they using mail protocol? Meaning anyone but Outlook users will get a mail with some strange formatting telling them a thumbs up has been given?

Or is it only between Outlook and Outlook? That means they have a side channel and transfer information from account to account without relying on the mail protocol? On the one hand, why not... On the other... I don't want to trouble shoot that. I want a mail provider do emails and not decide dynamically when to use an email and when to connect via alternative connection instead... In the end, I forbid sending emails off site, but someone just adds and removes thumbs up on an email he received and creates a side channel no one is monitoring to transfer information outside...

Maybe I am just a cranky old man, but I do not like this.

from: hr@acme
to: all@acme
We are pleased to inform you we just secured founding for our new company motivational program.

We decided that author of email with the biggest amount of reactions will receive $5 gift card and will be featured in our monthly newsletter.

But that’s not all. Thanks to our beloved CEO we added more rewards. Person with most reactions each year will get ability to take a photo inside our company private jet and meet the crew that flies it.

Remember to like and subscribe.
Don’t hesitate to add reaction and spread some love to every email.

Best regards.
HR

@vane 💩

and if you hit the emoji buttons too fast in random order, there's a good chance the outlook crashes. at least in my case it did few times

@TrayKnots no idea :) that's the thing with proprietary tools and tools in the cloud -- one can never be sure how it works... Unless the motivation is high enough to reverse-engineer it.

@TrayKnots Now someone replied to me in that mailchain and I can see than in the thread is an email sent form me, that says:

> 👍netikras reacted to your message:

ooohhhh dear... :)))

@netikras

Haha... You know what... That is incredibly stupid, but I am okay with that. I don't hate it anymore. At least mails will follow mail rules, I hope ^^

@vane you officially converted me to anarchist