Email bankruptcy

Email bankruptcy is deleting or ignoring all emails older than a certain date, due to an overwhelming volume of messages. The term is usually attributed to author Lawrence Lessig in 2004,^[1] though it can also be attributed to Sherry Turkle in 2002.^[2] An insurmountable volume or backlog of legitimate messages (e.g. on return from an extended absence) usually leads to bankruptcy.

During the act of declaring email bankruptcy, a message is usually sent to all senders explaining the problem, that their message has been deleted, and that if their message still requires a response they should resend their message.^[3][4][5]

Similarly, the inability to maintain an overview over messages in an instant messenger chat room may be referred to as chat room bankruptcy.^[6]