2009/11/7 William Pietri william@scissor.com:
Hi, Thomas.
Thomas Dalton wrote:
Indeed. My standard advice for people on how to interpret my text-based messages is this: If in doubt, I don't mean any offence. If I want to offend you, I will leave you in no doubt.
I think there's a common element in this and your "just ignore" proposal that will lead to continued frustration on both sides. You're placing the burden for solving a shared problem on other people, and quite a lot of them.
Yes, I am placing the burden on other people and I've explained why: The burden is negligible for other people. It is significant for me.
You seem like a pretty sharp fellow, and so I'm sure your solution not only looks most rational to you, but has good odds of being so by some reasonable set of metrics. But other people may be using different criteria, and you're unlikely to get them to change something deep like that via an email or two, especially if they already feel frustration toward you.
If someone would explain their criteria, this conversation could move forwards rather than round in circles...