Re: undergrads and email

[David Hamilton <david -at- URSUS -dot- COM>]

Kate writes:

> Another disadvantage crops up when users get a high volume of messages and
> don't agree on what communication should be expected to occur through E-mail
> or how we should determine what to read.  We're all guilty of deleting
> messages without opening them.  This is a valuable benefit of E-mail in many
> situations, but can cause big problems if the sender distributes an
> important message only be E-mail, thinking it will be read, and the intended
> receiver blips it away.

We use email a the primary means of communication for engineering and
tech docs projects.  Projects are assigned and coordinated via email.
Status reports are delivered through email.  Most technical briefings
are handled through email.  As a general rule, face-to-face project
meetings are only scheduled for matters that cannot be adequately
handled through email, and even then, such meetings are always
scheduled through email.

With various project members spread through 4 or more timezones, it is
difficult to imagine any other method of communication that would be
as effective for us.

In this environment, it would be unthinkable to delete mail messages
without knowing what they contain.  As a consequence, we tend to treat
our mail handling tools quite seriously, to make sure we can keep up
with the volume of mail.

-dh
_____________________________________________________________________
David Hamilton                                        david -at- ursus -dot- com