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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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{{w|Email}} differs from "snail" mail, in that people often expect a prompt reply. Replying to an email may lead to another email response, thus leading to a "loop" of constant replies and responses. Since an individual email is quick and cheap to send, people send lots of them. Thus people get a lot of emails, and may spend a large portion of their day dealing with email.
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{{incomplete|Created by an ANCIENT ROMAN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
  
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Megan observes that maybe the Romans got a lot done because they did not spend time on email.  In doing this she plays on the email handling strategy named Inbox Zero, which they might not have had because the Roman number system had no symbol for zero.  This is of course redundant, as email did not exist at the time.{{Citation needed}}
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{{w|Email}} differs from "snail" mail, in that it usually demands a reply. And replying to an email, may lead to another email response, thus leading to a "loop" of constant replies and responses.
  
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[https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/inbox-zero Inbox Zero] is an approach to email inbox management espoused by Merlin Mann, with the idea that people should spend as little time as possible in their email inbox. To achieve this, one should check one's inbox as few times as practical, and quickly deal with all new emails by deleting, delegating, sending a short reply where possible or categorizing them for later tasks. Basically it's a continuation of the "touch it once" strategy for dealing with physical mail.
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The {{w|ancient Romans}} are one of the model historical societies, well revered for their culture and life. A common misconception is that Romans did not have a concept of the number zero. The Romans were aware of the concept of zero, but there is no {{w|numeral}} for 0 in the {{w|Roman numeral}} system, as Roman numerals do not have place values like Arabic numerals. A value of ten or greater requires Arabic numerals to represent each lesser individually, with 0 serving as a placeholder digit for empty place values. Roman numerals do not have such a placeholder digit, and so did not have a numeral for zero; the word ''nulla'' was used to refer to "zero" in the sense of "nothing". Various sources indicate that this eventually gave use to '''N''' as a Roman numeral for "zero", and such is the case for modern users of Roman numerals.
  
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The {{w|ancient Romans}} are one of the model historical societies, well revered for their culture and life. A common misconception is that Romans did not have a concept of the number zero. The Romans were aware of the concept of zero, but there is no {{w|numeral}} for 0 in the {{w|Roman numeral}} system, as Roman numerals do not have place values like Arabic numerals. A value of ten or greater is represented in Arabic numerals using 0 as a placeholder for empty place values. Roman numerals do not have such a placeholder digit, and so did not have a numeral for zero; the word ''nulla'' was used to refer to "zero" in the sense of "nothing". Various sources indicate that this eventually gave use to '''N''' as a Roman numeral for "zero", and such is the case for modern users of Roman numerals.
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Megan plays on this misconception by claiming that they were able to accomplish a lot because they did not have the Inbox Zero philosophy. [https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/inbox-zero Inbox Zero] is a recent organizational approach to email inbox management by Merlin Mann, with the idea that people should spend as little time as possible in their inbox. To achieve this, one should periodically check one's inbox and quickly deal with all new emails by either sending a short reply where possible or categorizing them for later tasks. The idea of replying to any and all emails immediately is explicitly not part of the Inbox Zero approach as described by Mann. Megan's argument is therefore false and either a misconception on her part or just an attempt at falsely justifying her excuse.
  
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The title text refers to {{w|Hannibal's crossing of the Alps}}, a famous military campaign by Hannibal against the Romans. Randall claims that Hannibal needed to invade Rome to tell them to stop sending him so many emails. The reason for this was that Rome's email was sent from a "[https://www.mailjet.com/blog/news/the-noreply-dilemma-going-from-no-to-yes/ no-reply]" email address, so Hannibal had no way of replying by email, and had to tell them in person. The real reason for Hannibal to cross the Alps was because he wanted to conquer Rome. He did not conquer Rome, so he never sent his "unsubscribe" message.
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Megan implies that because ancient Romans did not have a zero, they had no concept of Inbox Zero; thus, they did not need to waste time replying to email, and therefore could accomplish more. This is of course redundant, as email did not exist at the time. {{Citation needed}}
  
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==Trivia==
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The title text refers to {{w|Hannibal's crossing of the Alps}}, a famous military campaign by Hannibal against the Romans. Randall claims that Hannibal needed to invade Rome to tell them to stop sending him so many emails. The reason for this was that Rome's email was sent from a "[https://www.mailjet.com/blog/news/the-noreply-dilemma-going-from-no-to-yes/ no-reply]" email address, so Hannibal had no way of replying and had to tell them in person. The real reason for Hannibal to cross the Alps was because he wanted to conquer Rome. He could not conquer Rome, so he never sent his "unsubscribe" message.
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* This is not the first time Randall has imagined strange "unsubscribe" messages; see [[1675: Message in a Bottle]].
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
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:[Megan and Cueball are sitting at a desk, facing each other, each working on their laptop computers.]
 
:[Megan and Cueball are sitting at a desk, facing each other, each working on their laptop computers.]
 
:Megan: Answering email is the worst. It just leads to getting more email.
 
:Megan: Answering email is the worst. It just leads to getting more email.
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:[Megan looks up from her work on the computer.]
 
:[Megan looks up from her work on the computer.]
 
:Megan: I bet the reason the Ancient Romans got so much done was that they had no concept of Inbox Zero.
 
:Megan: I bet the reason the Ancient Romans got so much done was that they had no concept of Inbox Zero.
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:Cueball: '''''That''''' explains it.
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:Cueball: ''That'' explains it.
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
 
[[Category:Computers]]
 
[[Category:Computers]]
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[[Category:Email]]
 

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