[vog]

> mail is a to-do list that anybody can put shit on, and I don't have any control over who puts things on it

That's a misuse of email on the receipient's side, not on the system's side. Email is about messages, not about tasks. Although there might be more comfortable (i.e., more automatic) ways, there's nothing wrong with maintaining a TODO list that is 100% separate from the INBOX.

For example, in my TODO list I describe shortly (and in my own words) what I consider to be important. Why should I waste my time scanning through the INBOX everytime I want to check what needs to be done?

In other words: It's me who decides what gets on my TODO list, nobody else! I'm in total control because I'm a free citizen living in a democracy, and as such it's my responsibility to organize my life. In particular, to decide what to do (to-do) in my life.

If you decide to give other people access to your TODO list (e.g. by defining your INBOX to be your TODO list), you're voluntarily giving up control of an important part of your life. Nobody forces you to do that. In fact, almost every organization guideline strongly advises against that kind of nonsense. (The most famous one being the "Inbox zero" series at http://www.43folders.com/izero)

[ssebro]

I think that part of the idea is that reading a message, replying to a message & all other things that you do with mail can be considered as "tasks".