Calm/Slow email

One of the themes at the plenary was the notion of technology voids - going places without email/internet to create the sensation of calm and rest/contemplation. 


I was talking to paul about a mail server that would shut down for the evening from 6:00 to 6:00 in the morning which would sent an automatic email saying the mail server didn't deliver email outside office hours. I think it might also say this at weekends.  


I think the important part is the mail server would take the bullet for you not seeing the email. Perhaps it would suggest phoning with a number to release the email if it was very important. This would put the weight back on the sender to socially interrupt you making clear the other commitments you have. 


Perhaps with that you could create the calm spaces to recover rest and give rhythm to your life. 


The idear was you could still send but didn't get stuck on a treadmill of mail. I know so many people who drive them selves crazy answering email late at night.  I quite like the notion of periods of no interuption.  My wife now regularly gets documents at 10:00/11:00 in the evening which the students expect her to read them for their tutorials the next morning. For some reason instead of telling the student this is far too late, she will sit up till the early hours reading it for the next day. I feel this helps no one ( how can you work well when tired). So the idea is the technology becomes the facilitor creating their own technology void. 


I've been thinking of putting a timer on the wireless in the house which shuts off at 11:30 but you would have to have the facility to turn it on some how in an emergency.

Paul found macfreedom - it turns the internet off for periods but I wondered if a mail server as I described above

http://macfreedom.com/


Found link to BBC article about new book here. Good but the solutions are a bit weak.