[grandalf]

It's foolish to ignore input in any form, but few people (even very bright, successful people) have the verbal bandwidth necessary to discuss important things solely via the written word. I tell people "business emails should be one short paragraph at most". (unless you are sure the other person can handle it).

[bh42222]

I tell people "business emails should be one short paragraph at most".

This is one of the reasons good people, often the best people, (not just software engineers) leave big companies.

[grandalf]

I've noticed it in big and small companies alike. I think it's b/c when someone is checking email his/her mind is not in the proper state to pause and type a detailed reply to a 10 paragraph message.

It's purely a consequence of all the demands on peoples' attention and the ambiguity with which most people write/think. Face to face or even telephone interaction allows for ongoing verification of mutual understanding. For an example of how long and detailed emails sent/read by smart, capable people can create much confusion, ill-will and chaos, check out LKML :)