[interesting] you have a 50% chance of correctly guessing my tone?

[silverwhisper]

courtesy of slashdot...

short version: according to a study published in the journal of personality & social psychology, recipients of e-mails have only a 50% chance of correctly understanding the sender's intended tone. long version here.

commentary: as writers, i think we spend a lot of time figuring out how to respond to [stimulus] from [character's perspective]. do you feel that you normally do a good job of understanding someone's intended meaning in an informal communication method such as e-mail?

ed

 

[oggbashan]

courtesy of slashdot...

commentary: as writers, i think we spend a lot of time figuring out how to respond to [stimulus] from [character's perspective]. do you feel that you normally do a good job of understanding someone's intended meaning in an informal communication method such as e-mail?

ed

As posters in the AH, generally we understand each other quite well.

There are occasions when the tone and content is misinterpreted. This is more common in the political threads than elsewhere.

We probably have a better idea than the average sender of email what will be understood by a reader because we are authors. That doesn't mean that we can't get it wrong. Anonymous is quick to misread our intentions if possible.

Whether all readers understand and appreciate the subtleties of our communications? I'm not sure.

Og

 

[Stella_Omega]

Via email? I have misinterpreted, and been misinterpreted. As it happens, I am of the old school of letter-writing, and after the first few mistakes, I try hard to prevent such misunderstandings from arising- of course, not always successfully.
I
1) ASK- "by such-and-such, did you mean to tell me..."
and
2) TELL- "by such-and-such, I meant to..." (compliment you, give you information, politely disagree, or whatever it is)
mostly, I try to treat email as if it were a letter, with a greeting at the top and a salutation at the bottom.
My husband has a very very bad habit, of putting the recipients address in place while he's writing. I will break his face if he ever does that again, because I find I have to read and edit nearly every business email he sends out!

 

[Rope64]

What possessed you guys to go and make wild accusations like these? I think it's really uncalled for ...

 

[3113]

What possessed you guys to go and make wild accusations like these? I think it's really uncalled for ...

Wild accusations? Wild? What an insult.

The nerve of some people!

 

[kendo1]

I am never misunderstood.

 

[gauchecritic]

I get misunderstood most often because a) I refuse to use smileys and b) I assume that everyone knows what's going on in my head. [secret reason c) I'm an arrogant fuck]

 

[Rope64]

Wild accusations? Wild? What an insult.

The nerve of some people!

Look -- stop coming on to me like this. Have you been drinking or something? Sheesh!

 

[3113]

Look -- stop coming on to me like this. Have you been drinking or something? Sheesh!

Oh, no! A religious nut! I'm e-mailing a moderator. You're trying ot impinge on my free speech.

 

[oggbashan]

Oh, no! A religious nut! I'm e-mailing a moderator. You're trying ot impinge on my free speech.

That will get you nowhere.

The Author's Hangout does not have a moderator. All we have is our own restraint and a modicum of good taste.

The modicum IS there is you look hard enough. A microscope might be required.

When we are attacked by bad taste, such as the war declared on us by the General Board, the members are quick to respond effectively. Otherwise our usual weapon is to ignore the post(s). However that happens to any and all of us from time to time so we don't know whether we have been ignored deliberately or just because we are being boring...

Og the bore

 

[English Lady]

I get misunderstood most often because a) I refuse to use smileys and b) I assume that everyone knows what's going on in my head. [secret reason c) I'm an arrogant fuck]

And D) you're yorkshire


(but I like you, I might not understand you all the time, but hey, I like you anyway)

 

[Rope64]

Oh, no! A religious nut! I'm e-mailing a moderator. You're trying ot impinge on my free speech.

Yeah, I know how this goes: you promise something for free and the next thing I know I'm committed to making payments on a time-share condo for five years. Now, I'm really busy working out the details of recovering several million dollars that a relative in Nigeria left me, so I hope you'll just accept that I'm not interested in whatever it is you're selling, and let me get on with my business.

 

[silverwhisper]

rope: bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!

og: yes, i'm quite aware that most of you guys know one another fairly well by now. :>

for my part, i tend to think i do well in understanding an e-mail sender's tone correctly, but then again, most people probably do. i usually try to do the same as stella omega re: responding to points people raise (both in e-mail as well as forum posts). i find it helps cut down, generally, on misunderstandings.

ed