HyperMail: treating electronic mail as literature

The huge flux of electronic information surrounding the modern researcher requires new tools for its management. HyperMail is a simple tool built on the HyperCard environment for use as a retrospective aid, for relatively stable collections of Email messages concerning a relatively focused topic. By allowing users to swiftly locate, examine and compare messages across authors and across time, the original conversation can become a rich source of subsequent study. Our goal is to treat Email as a form of literature, worthy of the same preservation and augmentation that is typical of traditional printed media.