Ask HN: Building an email killer
Need help in building an email killer app. The concept around it is taking the logic of collaboration tools and apply it to tame emails. Here's how we are thinking:
Step 1: We build a collaboration tool (done it already: https://comtify.com). It has a thread-like architecture wherein each issue is discussed in threads (just like email threads) and the logic of email (to, cc, folders, etc.) apply.
Step 2: We are in the middle of this. We are injecting the features of email import-export into Comtify. So it will work like this: A message thread in Comtify will detect whether an external user (email ID) is tagged into it. If yes, when a new message is posted in a thread, it will fire that message as an email to the external user (email ID). This email will be like a regular email with all other members of thread visible in To/cc (for whom, the email will be imported and ignored). Now if the external user makes a reply-to-all on the email, it will be imported, recognized and posted as a message in Comtify in the same thread. In case this user does not do a reply-to-all but changes the recipients, a sub-thread (within the master thread) will be created in Comtify.
So this should solve a much needed problem with collaboration tools (Asana, Slack, Wunderlist, Smartsheet) which is that they are only limited to use within an internal team and fail in external communication.
It should also solve the problem of single-user utility which no collaboration tool currently has - user wouldn't require any team to be first invited and even one user from a particular team can use it, while others might not.
Need deep thoughts into this on whether:
1. You think this is a big problem to be solved.
2. How exactly do you visualize the system to work.
Regards,
paekut