> for some people, not having to write that (or any) email is the whole point of having people in meetings

Which can lead to some annoying problems where, for example, you might have several meetings where people harangue you for wanting things done in way X but then find out after you've spent two weeks doing things in way Y that they actually conceded on way X after those things but no-one bothered to write it down or communicate it in any way.

(Not that this was a one-off; the whole company had a culture of meetings without notes or any kind of documentation.)