Limitations of email (was Re: Linux installaton)

[Richard Gaskin]

Bob Warren wrote:

> Mark Wieder wrote:
>  >
> Yes, I'm getting a bit tired of this thread. It's not quite OT, since
> it does have to do with building linux standalones, but apparently
> what I've been saying to you hasn't been getting through. I'll try one
> more time and that's all I'll have to say on this thread.
> ---------------------
> Wow! Would someone like to tell me what I said or did to deserve that?

This seems one of those cases where two nice guys wind up having a 
personal issue because of the limitations of email.  I've met Mark 
Wieder personally and find him among the most charming people, and while 
I haven't talked with you in person Bob I enjoy your emails a lot and 
find them very helpful.

So how do two such nice people misunderstand each other to have 
intentions less friendly than they probably do?

I recently read a summary of a study on email communications which found 
that while participants reported having 90% confidence that they 
accurately interpreted the tone and content of the email, they were 
wrong about 50% of the time.

ASCII is a very low-bandwidth form of communication, lacking the many 
rich features of F2F -- no body language, no voice tonality, no facial 
expressions, etc.

Email sucks as a way to communicate, but on a discussion list it's all 
we have, so we have to make the most of it.

One thing that might be helpful is that if an email seems off-putting, 
try giving it a second read to see if you can find a way to interpret it 
as friendly. It probably is.

I know I've been guilty of misinterpreting intentions myself, but it's 
very rare that the folks here come to this discussion with anything less 
than the most honorable intentions.

I like both of you guys, and I'm sure that if this conversation were 
happening in person the only fight would be over who buys the next round. :)

So please consider this sappy email a sort of group hug for the list, a 
chance to take a step back and recognize that we're all here for good 
reasons, and are trying to do our best to further the friendly and 
productive exchange that makes this list so valuable.

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Managing Editor, revJournal
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