The Follow Up Email: Love It or Loathe It?

Ah, the follow-up email. I get at least five a day from well-meaning bloggers looking to place a guest post or companies pitching a product, news item or service. Should the follow-up email be forgotten for good or remain a mainstay in modern communication?

I'm in the "forgotten for good" camp in nearly every case. When I process my email, I try my hardest to handle each email once for efficiency's sake. If a pitch or post is useful, I respond. If it isn't, I don't. Unfortunately, in the latter case, I can almost count on four to six more follow-up emails, which get annoying to even scan after awhile.

To me, the follow-up email is only really acceptable when someone's failed (or are in danger of failing) to deliver something they've promised -- and then, it's a necessity. How do you feel about these inbox-cluttering missives? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the poll below.