Limitations of email (was Re: Linux installaton)

Lynn Fredricks lynn at paradigmasoft.com
Wed Jun 7 14:15:46 EDT 2006


> 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.

Email doesn't convey the human very well, but its easy enough to resort to
barbs without the personal investment. I also have to deal with about four
language/culture situations day to day (sometimes more), and that's
something else on top of it.

> 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.

Group hug okay, but no cuddling during the marketing panel, Richard :-)

Best regards,


Lynn Fredricks
Worldwide Business Operations
Runtime Revolution, Ltd





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