Do People Think E-Mail Doesn't Exist?

The firing of Harry Stonecipher yesterday as CEO of Boeing for his affair with a company executive was triggered by an anonymous tip that included a "very graphic" e-mail Stonecipher sent to the woman.  Somehow, the e-mail made it out to a broader audience -- is anyone surprised about that? -- and reached the company's lead director, who had corporate counsel conduct an investigation.  This is another example of how some people view e-mail as non-existent ether that dissipates as quickly as a water-cooler conversation. We have reached the point where the lack of an e-mail trail is considered an oddity, as in the prosecution of Bernie Ebbers in which there is virtually no e-mail traffic from Ebbers, and only a few to him. An AP story here discusses the termination of Stonecipher. (ph)