Don't think his invention is the precursor to what we now call email.
I think all that truthfully said about Shiva Ayyadurai's claim is:
In the late 70s he developed an electronic office communication system which he called EMAIL.
He applied a skeumorphic transformation of real-world concepts (In Box, Out Box, CC, BCC, etc) to his system.
However, I don't think he can truthfully claim to have invented THE email we use today - which evolved from a completely different set of technologies.
He can claim he invented AN email system, but not THE email system (especially since electronic communications predates his invention).
At best, his was an independently conceived and implemented evolutionary dead end, which probably saw itself as a closed, rather than open, system.
Perhaps the only thing he can truly be credited for is EMAIL (unless there is evidence of earlier use of the term).
Biting the hand that feeds IT
