Slashdot Mirror
The Tyranny of Email
Circuit Breaker writes "Are you or your co-workers using email instead of phone, face to face conversations, or instant messaging? Read this article, and hand out copies to your mates."
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Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
I liked it so much, I emailed a link to my whole group!
(whoops...)
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
I'm sure if I had someone trying to have a conversation with me about how I could increase my penis size to 15 inches or that I'm missing out on hot steamy sex with barely legal teens, they would be in for a world of hurt.
Be you Admins? nay, we are but lusers!
Well, I think I'll just forward them the link, because if I talk to them in real life then they'd realize I wasn't 6'2" with a boy builder's body.
--sig fault--
How to be Really antisocial, without guilt.
He tried to kill me with a forklift!
PHB: Hey Bob, where's that report?
Bob: Didn't Alice send it to you? I emailed to let her know that she needed to do that...
PHB: Hmm... Anybody seen Alice?
That happens all too often, in which case Alice is completely justified to take a fresh pot of coffee and pour it down Bob's pants.
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
If I actually *wanted* to be more productive at work, I'd follow his advice. Of course I'd probably stay away from reading slashdot too...
I don't have time to continuously check my e-mail at work. I have important things to do, such as compulsively click on 'refresh' button on ./ main page for first posts.
Signatures are for stupids.
Yes and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong and is a Bad Programmer (tm). There is also One True Editor, One True Brace Style (for those languages which use them), One True Indentation Style, and One True Language (which potentially makes the One True Brace Style irrelevant). All naysayers will be shot. Thank you. -- The Management
Just imagine being deeply involved in doing your job and having your concentration broken by some annonymous person ringing a bell and you having to drop what you are doing and respond immediately. Only to find that it's Earl from accounting wanting to know where his TPS forms are.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Imagine sitting in the cube between two people having a phone discussion, and hearing it in stereo.
And both of them are on speakerphone. AAARRRGGGG!
I agree. Though our dept's rule is when you reply, make sure that everyone who was CC'd on the original e-mail is kept in the reply.
This works great when someone does something like the above and is either completely wrong about something, knows not what they are talking about, etc...
The BOFH in me loves to be able to reply back with "This data is showing up wrong on the web because it is in the database wrong. I did some further tracking and found that the incorrect data is in this record that you entered on such-and-such date."
Usually stops the random cc's for a little bit.
only to have been BBC'd to my superiors
You mean like this ? Nope - my bad - that was to the Observer not the BBC...
--- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
The article mentions proper spelling and grammar in e-mails. I have another problem, the use of ellipses...people...seem to think...that... randomly placing ellipses...all over...their message...will somehow... absolve them...of punctuation... when all it really does...is annoy. Did they... pick it up...from Japanese...RPG games?
What does that symbol even mean anymore? Like if one period means pause three periods must be really dramatic!
Really, it's like "Man I don't know if a comma goes here, this elipse will fool everyone! I'm brilliant!" I'm not a grammar nazi or anything, I just hate reading IM/e-mails from people that do this. Even the damn article has some ellipses in it.
So if you're one of those people who does this, please stop. For...the love... of god.
I've gotten into the bad habit of emailing with co-workers to arrange lunch gatherings...
Now, unfortunately, every time time that little new email chime rings on my computer, I begin to drool uncontrollably!
Oh god, being caught between two "phonies" is so annoying. In my department one pseudo-manager phones her underlings every 20 minutes to talk about their work on the current project ("did you compile yet?", "did you change that variable name yet?","I think we should do it this way"), yet she sits in a cubicle 10 feet away from them and can easily stand up and have a conversation in a normal tone of voice. Luckily I sit away from them and don't hear them anymore, but a coworker of mine sits right in the middle and he hears the whole conversation in stereo-she asks a question, he answers, she replies. Ridiculous.
Meanwhile I sit beside a manager who's native language is French and if you've ever been to queerbec you know how boisterous they can get. His french buddy comes by a half dozen times a day and all I hear is "Pouvoir Boivoir Voulaiz Sucretz Viva bonjoir!" one decibel short of shouting for the next 20 minutes.
Then you got the ones who for some reason think that the office phone is not enough for them and have to leave their cell phones on so everyone can listen to their stupid customized ringer tootin the theme to the A-Team or something. At least take it with you or turn it off when you leave your desk.
Thank god for email! Unlike speaking or the phone, it doesn't make noise, other people's email doesn't distract you, you don't have to read it immediately, and you can ignore the little envelope icon until you are finished with your current task.
Fight the power! Use "email".
And I'd be a Libertarian, if they weren't all a bunch of tax-dodging professional whiners.
Berke Breathed