Do you ever have unanswered emails?

I treat emails (and all digital communication with people I know, actually), like it is a real conversation.

In the sense that, whenever I send a message, I expect an answer.

And, whenever I receive a message, I try to respond.

Sometimes it irks me when people do not have the same view on this as I do. In those moments I try to remind myself that I fall short of my own expectations repeatedly as well.

I also remind myself that people might have a different view on the whole “digital communication”-thingy.

Strangers might be annoyed that I do not always answer, since my “digital communication policy” does not include a moral obligation to respond to people I do not know (largely to avoid spending all day answering people, automated messages, and bots).

There are also extenuating circumstances in many cases.

For example, people might simply be drowning in messages.

So here’s my question:

Is not replying acceptable? Or are we just normalizing bad digital manners?

And by extension: do you have a digital communication policy, or are you just winging it?