So, being in the UK, we were kinda slow with this whole internet thing, so I’ve really only been using email since about 1997-98. Back then it was a break through, mind breakingly cool thing. I could literally communicate with someone the other side of the world, instantly. WOW!!! However, lately I’m starting to hate email… here’s a few reasons why:

Txt Spk

Text speak in itself is an annoying phenomena. Sure I’m showing my age by not embracing it, but it does annoy me. However, I can kind of understand it you’ve got limited capacity to get your message across, like in SMS or on Twitter. In email though? No!!

With email you have a blank, limitless page, only time is against you. From my point of view, I like to read an email, and understand it as I read it. Not have to decode it and figure out what exactly the person has written.

For me, this is one of those times where our requirement to communicate briefly has spread beyond the borders it shouldn’t have crossed.

Txt spk – stay in SMS U fiend! FTW!

One letter sign-offs

Seriously, is your life that utterly busy that you can’t even finish writing your name? Don’t write anything at all – it’s far better, and people won’t think you’re an idiot.

Signing off your emails with ‘S’ rather than ‘Steve’ just plain sucks – it doesn’t make you cool, it just means you’re lazy. Plus, not all initials work friends. On a cool factor, ‘Z’ is much cooler than ‘I’… so if you’re going to do it, have a cool initial at least!

Regards,

S.

Crazy Colours and over formatting

This one just goes full whack over the other side of the dial when it comes to having too much time on your hands to create an email. I hate seeing a technicolour dream whenever I read an email. I few touches to emphasise a point is ok, or highlight a response for example, but writing in bold red font as if you’re screaming blue murder just isn’t a good approach.

Keep it simple, and to the point.

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

Errr, who prints email? Seriously – I haven’t printed an email in my life. If information or data is in an email only, then it shouldn’t be in an email. It should be in its own document.

Plus, people who do print email ignore this message, so stop adding it!

If you can say it, say it

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.

Why? Because email is relatively emotionless. It’s hard to tell whether X person is angry, sad or neither. You tend to read an email in the voice of your current emotion, and it takes a true email pro to be able to communicate in their own voice.

Replying to the wrong thread

My final issue with email is when people respond to a group on a subject which has nothing to do with the previous email. They’ve literally pressed “Reply to All” because it’s the group they want to communicate to, but haven’t removed the history, or changed the subject.

It really isn’t that hard but I see it so often, and makes it impossible to search for emails in the future.