I was reading those posts earlier, thinking the same: there is no point in burdening email with constructing 'todo' lists for named senders because my Opera mail client has been doing this successfully and more flexibly with filters for years.
Also, the thought of receiving potentially important emails which can only be read by, say, 'MS word-receiver 2012, v.3.2' fills me with forboding.
So? Is that bad? Everyone has their own way of expressing. Some herein declare that electronic mail is not flawed. Some say that email is not broken. Some just say that email doesn't need dick-sucking.
No they are not. Some are more * preferred * by you than others. Personally I find such metaphor to be engaging & expressive. I love @holman 's writing for same reason. But that doesn't mean one is better over the other.
Writing style is form of art & expression. The quality of an art piece is determined by how well it is expressed and formal technicalities. So as long as his expression is in place, and grammar is sound - it's good art.