Why Emails Are Misunderstood

werdna writes "The Christian Science Monitor has a piece on why it's so easy to misinterpret emails. From the article: 'First and foremost, e-mail lacks cues like facial expression and tone of voice. That makes it difficult for recipients to decode meaning well. Second, the prospect of instantaneous communication creates an urgency that pressures e-mailers to think and write quickly, which can lead to carelessness. Finally, the inability to develop personal rapport over e-mail makes relationships fragile in the face of conflict.'"

My opinion on this article...

[zaren]

:p

Another reason...

[Anonymous Coward]

is that some are from Nigerian royalty.

It's really hard to read their broken English. I spent at least 3 days emailing back and forth before I figured how to send them $10000 from my bank account.

Now, I'm just waiting for the cash to roll in......

I'm Pretty Sure...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm pretty sure that they are so misunderstood because they are composed by such gauche and uneducated knuckle draggers. But it could be because the illiterate morons are allowed to operate computers in the first place.

I'm pretty sure...

Fu the rescue!

[JonTurner]

That's why I usually begin my letters with:
FU U F'ing F'er.

Such a versitile word. And no confusion!

WTF?

[Otter Escaping North]

Hard to understand? ROFL!

n00bz.

Re:Rapport

[Cytlid]

He have built prior rapport, over the phone.

  Woops I goofed.

I read it on Slashdot moments ago

[OffTheLip]

"People Suck at Spotting Phishing" that is "Why Emails Are Misunderstood".

Re:inflection, emphasis, tone, etc. usually missin

[linvir]

Wait, I screwed that up. My point is that the language makes up for deficiencies in one thing by promoting another thing, and intonation is as much a part of "English" as phrases and words.

I have been waiting.

[Foo2rama]

This exact piece of research comes out every year and it is just as earth shattering every time. Thank god that they got it out before the middle of the year and I didn't suffer any anxiety from the delay of the release of this important piece of research. Perhaps since this is written medium did you get the sarcasm?


Ok kids we got this, yes this issue spawned emoticons, can we move on to more important things like Gizmodo execs and Enzo's cut in half.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:inflection, emphasis, tone, etc. usually missin

[Moofie]

How about "Poorly written English is ambiguous."

Re:inflection, emphasis, tone, etc. usually missin

[BobVila]

Couldn't someone just bold the text in the email like this?

Re:inflection, emphasis, tone, etc. usually missin

[Anonymous Coward]

In my experience, the problem isn't so much tied to the limitations of communicating via text. It's more a problem of people being very poor at written communication. Most people don't use good grammar and can't spell. They can't type very well either. All these factors conspire to make the whole experience of trying to communicate via any form of text cumbersome and frustrating, and that's assuming they even have a desire to communicate effectively to start with. The chances of someone writing an e-mail well enough to get their point across without a misunderstanding are slim to none.

I use a lot of smilies and exclamation points to communicate, so I've never had the problem, but I can see how a lesser writer could.

That's why God made CAPITAL letters

[ToxikFetus]

When one want's to convey importance in an email, merely capitalize every letter in the important word: I didn't STEAL the money. Of course, the problem with this approach becomes readily apparent: How do you emphasize the 'I'? Simple, remove all capitalization from any other word (and for good measure, get rid of that pesky punctuation, except those cute little ellipses). So, as an example:

mr smith...
these accusations are an outrage... I didnt steal the money... talk with bob from accounting...
toodles...
ted from the mailroom

See? Clear as a bell. Obviously, ted didn't steal the money. And those ellipses help each sentence flow smoothly into the next.

Bonus suggestion: If an entire message is important, JUST CAPITALIZE EVERY LETTER. THAT WILL FORCE PEOPLE TO LISTEN AND MAKE YOU SOUND IMPORTANT.

Re:Even more shocking, from TFA

[rf0]

You've never worked in tech support have you?

Re:inflection, emphasis, tone, etc. usually missin

[Asphalt]

Is that why people always get annoyed when I email and ask "What are you wearing?"

I just happen to be very fashion-concious, but for some reason ....

Re:inflection, emphasis, tone, etc. usually missin

[glsunder]

Read each sentence out loud, with emphasis on the bolded word.
        * I didn't steal the money. ...

I can only imagine thousands of cubical dwellers reaction to their neighbor muttering "I didn't steal the money" over and over again.

Tommarow, lets go for "I won't kill the president today".

Re:all you need to do..

[Dunbal]

what's with the long face?

Hi. I am the founder of the "Adenoid Hypertrophy" Foundation. I must inform you that adenoid hypertrophy, if left uncorrected during childhood and early adolescence will result in an increase longitudinal and decreased lateral length of the face of the sufferer. This is called Adenoid fascies by doctors, and looks like a "long face". As a representative of the thousands of people who suffer from this disfiguring disease, I must say that we are offended by your reference to "long faces" as if this were some sort of joke. We consider ourselves damaged by your remarks and insist that you retract your statement immediately or face the consequences which may include litigation.

Re:inflection, emphasis, tone, etc. usually missin

[Anonymous Coward]

Right, and if you're a Brit... the tone in which a statement is delivered will determine the meaning.

"you (bloody) little rat-bag" (said w/a smile)
    vs.
"You (bloody) little rat-bag" (said w/menace)

Importance of Capitalization

[SPravin]

I helped my uncle Jack off the horse
v/s
I helped my uncle jack off the horse

Re:inflection, emphasis, tone, etc. usually missin

[camken]

i read your comment, and not 10 minutes later i heard someone a few cubes over doing just that..

i splattered coffee all over my monitor..

now i have to find a way to clean it up without having to expain that i was reading /. and at least one other person was too..

hmm. maybe i should just wander around saying "I didn't spill the coffee."

To my dear Nigerian friend

[Chemisor]

Dear Mr.Smith,

I certainly appreciate your gracious offer of friendship and, according to my philosophy, will immediately start treating you like one. In the name of our newly-forged friendship, I am wondering if you would be kind enough to advance me TEN THOUSAND US DOLLARS ($10,000.00) to rescue your troubled friend and his container. Surely, as a president of a bank, you ought to have no difficulty in procuring these funds and loaning them to me, your dearest friend, would you? In return you will have my ETERNAL gratitude and that tingly warm feeling that comes from receiving it. I'll then be VERY HAPPY to rescue your friend's container in return for only ONE MIEEELION US DOLLARS ($1,000,000.00).

In the name of our sincerest friendship,

Mr.Chemisor
A good friend in need.

Re:inflection, emphasis, tone, etc. usually missin

[Linker3000]

Yep: Even though it was tough to go through the rough in Slough, I ploughed through with hardly a thought!

Re:inflection, emphasis, tone, etc. usually missin

[raygundan]

That's not specific enough. It's possible for poorly written language to avoid ambiguity.

How about "Ambiguously written English is ambiguous?"

Tautologies FTW!

I always thought it was because...

[Ingolfke]

there was a dumbass reading it.

Re:Ahem...

[Rob the Bold]

Please refrain from using language of which you do not possess full command.

I must agree with Winston Churchill: that is a practice up with which I will not put.

iLIFE

[se7en11]

With that logic, what is Apple trying to tell us with their "i" products?

iLife = you really have no life, but let's pretend
iPod = you think this is about you?? LOL!!!11 Look at our profits for the past 3 years.

Re:inflection, emphasis, tone, etc. usually missin

[aafiske]

Woah, dude, good choice! It works really well. I've been trying it out! I won't kill the president today, I won't kill the president today, I won't kill the president today, I won't kill the president today. Try it out!

One sec, someone's at the door.