[NikolaNovak]

Agreed - I think a lot of responses in this thread get it exactly right.

The assumption from the OP is that they are in position of power (however defined), and that "it's no skin off their back" if somebody's request is missed. They have the luxury to adopt a (to others seemingly) random and specific uncommunicated threshold, and enforce it.

That is true, in a very specific subset of cases and situations.

That is empathically not true, in a very large set of cases and situations.

If you are the one sending the email, then typically you are the one that wants/needs something, ergo you are typically the one that is responsible to get it done / follow-up. That's a generalization but a useful one.

(In particular, the notion of "if you follow up several times, you're going into kill file" is again only applicable for a very specific set of situations. Your boss, client, spouse, friend, partner, lover, lawyer, parole officer, tax auditor, teacher, et cetera would probably not react kindly to enforcement of such rule).

[ormaaj]

It's not a power thing.

[NikolaNovak]

Disagree, or at least we are misunderstanding each other.

I am not saying you are gleefully abusing power or going ona power trip. I am saying there's implicit power in your suggestion / preference.

If you work for a large company, you don't get to put your boss in a kill file because they emailed you a few follow ups. There's any number of situations where that's an unthinkable option.

Consciously or not, you are assuming position of power over the sender. That you don't need them and you aren't negatively impacted by enforcing arbitrary and draconian thresholds. As I said in my examples, most of us likely would not be that non chalant in situations where we do not have the power.

[ormaaj]

Boss would have to have really stepped way over the line to cross the "ignore" threshold. If I were not in a position to do anything about it I'd ideally be looking for another job before reaching that point.

If you're someone's boss then my expectations of your ability to conduct yourself professionally in everyday email correspondence is higher not lower.

There do exist certain technologies and practices that do in effect impose draconian power over the sender. What I do is not one of them, and if I were to become aware of anything I do to inadvertently impose on others then I would take extraordinary steps to avoid it.