

I’m Starting to Hate Email - mootymoots
http://www.reynoldsftw.com/2010/06/im-starting-to-hate-email/

======
Zak
I was hoping for some serious complaints that a startup might be able to offer
technical solutions for, but most of the author's issues are pretty trivial.

One point he makes does bring up an interesting question though. The author
complains about people using one-letter signatures instead of their name.
What's the point of signing an email with your name when you're using your own
email account? The from header is generally set to include your name already.

~~~
roryokane
It's just standard etiquette. I was taught to write emails like letters,
starting with "Dear Someone" and ending by signing my name. Both parts are
redundant, but I guess it's supposed to make the email seem more personal. I
agree that it's generally a waste of time, but I can't predict if the
recipient would be offended if I left those parts out, so I usually put them
in.

~~~
bradleyland
Email is an interesting beast. Most threads I'm involved in start out very
formal with the requisite 'Dear So-and-so' at the beginning and some sort of
formal-ish signature. But by the third back and forth, most people abandon the
formalities and start signing with just their name, or not at all. I prefer
not to have to bother, as it has been noted, my full name and email appear in
the mail headers, and I use proper top quoting format whenever possible.

------
joshu
A huge one I learned: You can't convince someone to change their mind over
email. It has to be in person.

(I'm talking about strongly-held decisions or beliefs here. Not the sort of
thing where a simple presentation of the facts will do.)

------
petercooper
More precisely, he's starting to hate the sort of careless people he emails
with on a regular basis. It reminds me of when people complain about crap on
Twitter, but fail to realize it's down to following the wrong people.

------
joshu
The other thing that drives me nuts are emails that aren't actionable. I have
enough trouble keeping up with email where it's obvious what's next...

------
edw519
I love email and I let everyone know.

I don't chat, text, or tweet. I don't have a land line any more. Only a few
people have my cell phone #. My office phone goes directly to voice mail.

But email is a different story. I don't have instant notification, so it
doesn't interrupt me. I check it when I'm ready and I respond quickly,
sometimes immediately, almost always within 24 hours. Modern spam filters have
made this a breeze.

I bet about half the people I know I have never met, I don't know what they
look like, and I've never heard their voice. But we have conducted so much
business by email that I feel that I still know them well.

I remember that before email, getting something done was as much a matter of
managing interruptions as focusing on the task at hand.

But email has helped me to once again become the master of my own time. I
can't imagine getting much done any other way.

[I love hearing from all hn'ers by email. You will get a reply. And you can
sign your email any way you want.]

------
ireadzalot
I agree with the signature part in emails where people talk about "Please
think about the environment before printing this email." And some people have
some grand quotes of this and that. My college's admin staff were notorious
for doing this.

I find that utterly annoying.

------
jarek
Why the author is starting to hate email: problems exist between keyboard and
chair.

------
GrandMasterBirt
\- I print emails, when they contain some information I will need while say
driving somewhere.

\- I use colors which help with Question / Answer situations.

\- I use single letter sign offs when on a cellphone responding.

\- I use some txt speach when on a cellphone, not too crazy because sometimes
thinking of a clever abbreviation is more painful than just writing the damn
word out, also autocomplete helps. I also explicitly tell people that "u" is
ok or "ur" or "k" or something in that nature, but things I can't figure out
within 20 seconds are not.

So yea, reply to shitty txt speach "I dont get it, please say again without
abbreviations" it annoys because they have to send it twice.

Reply to a shitty colored email with a massively colored one.

Single letter signoffs... wait what bothers you about this?

------
ergo98
>I used to be a big offender in this area, but am a true convert that if you
can say something on the phone or face to face, then you should do it. Only
use email to communicate when you need some kind of record, or cannot deal
with it verbally otherwise.

You _always_ want "some kind of record". A record isn't a "ha ha, told you so"
thing, but it keeps communications accurate and accountable. We've all dealt
with situations where FUBARs happened because verbal communications were
misinterpreted, or people simply lied because they knew there was little
accountability.

------
seasoup
Starting to?

