The action of including a pre-existing email as an attachment within a new outgoing email is a common practice in electronic communication. This allows recipients to view the original message’s content, including headers, timestamps, and previous attachments, in its original format, which is often useful for providing context or preserving specific email formatting. For example, instead of forwarding a long email chain, it can be included as an attachment to a summary email.
This capability is valuable for archiving email exchanges, providing documented trails of communication, and ensuring the integrity of the original message remains intact. It also avoids altering the initial email’s content, which can happen when forwarding. Historically, this feature evolved as email systems matured and the need for preserving email threads became apparent in business and legal environments.