Wednesday, May 6, 2009
E-MAIL ETIQUETTE & ONLINE COURTESY
I have blogged about politics, religion, and economics without fear. But today's topic is so controversial, I am approaching it with trepidation. It is sure to offend a number of my readers! Relatively speaking, e-mail is a new way of communicating that rapidly exploded into existence. Not only did it happen quickly, but it became universal. Every one is using it but not always effectively and with courtesy. As a culture, we have not had to rely on our writing skills for decades. But now, there is no way around it. Consequently, there is a great amount of miscommunication with it, and misuse of it. Not to mention disrespect of its recipients. Please stop filling my e-mail inbox with jokes! Please stop harassing me with hyperlinks to You Tube videos of cute stuff! Please stop forwarding emails to me that you think are clever! OK, now that I have that stuff off my chest, Here is what I would like you to do with e-mail. Send messages which are original thoughts from you. People love to hear what you are doing and how things are going. They love receiving news about you. Hey, if you discover a web page with helpful information for me_please attach it to an e-mail to me. I appreciate those kinds of e-mails. And by the way, stop using thinks like BTW and LOL. They make you sound like the hip hop Mayor of Detroit! Oh yeah, and please no more xxx and 000 and smiley faces. They make you sound juvenile. Well, that's my rant for today. I am sorry if you are offended but somebody had to tell you these things.
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While I respect your right to feel that way, and have tried to abide by it, I don't agree at all. I prefer to censor email myself rather than rely on others to do it for me.
ReplyDeleteI use my email client software to create folders for all email whether it be by subject, sender or whatever. Then, the software receives the emails and sorts them into the folders I've set up automatically. I see only what I want to see when I want to see it.
For instance, right now I have 560 messages in the folder I have the computer put all jokes, political screeds, etc. When I have a few moments and the inclination, I'll read some of them and delete a bunch unread.
It's probably because I'm afraid I'll miss something really good or important, but I wouldn't do it any other way. It works for me.
Peace,
Tsar Patrovich
Once again, the Tsar makes an excellent rebuttal! And, once again, I disagree. However, I am learning that more of my readers agree with the Tsar than with me. By taking an unpopular position, I have become an unpopular guy (on this subject). In retrospect, I think I expressed an extreme point of view which should be softened, somewhat. But hey, at least I made everyone think about how they use their e-mail. And maybe, they will use it a little more responsibly, or not. Who cares?
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