Emailing Tips for Our Parents

Email from your beloved parent, or The Davinci Code? Which is easier to decipher?

I ask, because while many of us grew up with computers, the same can't be said for our good ol' moms and dads.

They were halfway through life, got a good stride going.... Then the personal computer came along. And the Internet. And e-mail. And suddenly, Life threw a big honking wrench into their smoothly-running machinery.

There was all this new stuff to learn. Stuff that you couldn't touch, or hold-- but only existed on a glowing screen. And while some folks take to it seamlessly, an equal number have some... creative interpretations of how it all works... until they get up to speed.

So I thought I'd pull together a few helpful tips of common email issues that result from the 'rents hitting the Information Highway. Let's remove the roadblocks and get 'em back on the path, shall we? And here's wishing them happy, safe driving.

• The Subject field should contain a few words summarizing your message-- not an excerpt from War and Peace. My friend Debbie's mom's grand entrance into the world of e-mail involved a detailed multi-paragraph message sent entirely in the Subject line. It was remarkable how much Deb's mom crammed in there. In fact, I believe Debbie may still be scrolling at this moment.

• The Subject Field is meant to be descriptive and probably shouldn't require a team of Navajo Code Talkers or that curly-haired kid from Numb3rs to figure it out. In a variation of the issue above, my dad goes the entire other way with his Subject lines. He seems absolutely terrified he'll run out of characters in the Subject box-- so he abbreviates things. Things that have no abbreviations suddenly have unique and exciting new acronyms. I'll get a message that says "R L ," for instance. "R L ? What the heck's 'R L '?" And then I'll open the message to discover that the Pop has just gone to Red Lobster. Email from Dad may require an extra cup of coffee.
  

• Writing in all caps really is considered shouting. And no, it isn't easier to read. It isn't.... No, it really isn't. No... Please stop. The message comes through looking like a 1940s telegram but with punctuation. I've heard all sorts of reasons new users to email composition will say caps are better. They're "larger." They're "easier to read." When in fact, the real answer is, "They're readily available, because I can't figure out how to turn the caps lock off."
  

• No, you haven't attached the photo. Yes, I know you think you did. But you didn't. Attaching a photo is a multiple-step process. Any missed step means the photo is not attached. And while I know parents like to retain their sense of authority with their kids, when the adult child says you didn't attach the image, insisting you did and getting irritated really won't make the attachment suddenly appear. Remember, it's perfectly okay to have a learning curve-- no parents lose their 'Rent Cred simply because they're still learning Attachments.
  

• 2 GIG files will probably not make it into your recipient's Inbox. They will, however, clog up your email server for, possibly, the next twenty years. Or until technology catches up with you. Whichever comes first.
  

• SPAM filters can't read your mind. Spam filters are triggered by keywords, and they don't so much take into account context. So if you are a "Subject Abbreviator" and you want to tell a story about your friend Ed Delaney, writing "E D" in the subject line is likely to get filtered out for SPAM. Writing "White Breasts" in the Subject because you had nice white meat roast chicken for lunch is also likely to be filtered. And no amount of cute miniature donkeys at the local petting zoo on a steamy July day require a Subject field to read "Me, Petting These Hot Little Asses." Just sayin'.
  

• The shorthand you learned in secretarial school in 1962 isn't a nifty new form of text messaging. A few moms I know who were killer with the shorthand years ago, seem to want to transition it to the Web. This would be fine if they were only writing to other moms who were killer with shorthand. But most of us don't know that "usta" is "understand" and not some side table from IKEA. And "uavob" is "unavailable" and not the name of an alien from Battlestar Galactica. It's good to know your audience.
  

• Hitting "Send" multiple times does not make the computer hurry up. It just makes more messages. I know email is exciting, and sometimes the speed of the computer seems inversely proportional to your desire to see your email winging its way to your loved ones. But the Send button is not a snare drum. It doesn't need to be hit rhythmically to work effectively. Just the once is usually good enough.
  

Do you folks have any to add to this list? Send 'em along! But, um, if you do? Please do it in a comment, okay? And not in the form of 1 GIG attachment. My email server and I will thank you. :)

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Humor-blogs
Humorbloggers

Spamming with the Stars

Jack Bauer emailed me. Yep, he took time out of his busy 24-hour-working-day of saving the country from terrorists, head-butting baddies, and being tortured-- where every second counts-- to send little ol' me an important message about...

Male enhancement.

What a guy! I mean where, in his jam-packed schedule, would he even get the time to devote to this sort of public service? To care about the, er, little people out there?

I guess maybe in the eight minutes of commercial breaks each episode. Presumably when he also pees.

You'd just think this sort of online support could be delegated to a trusted friend at CTU, or something. Like Chloe. But not our Jack. Nope, it's so like him, isn't it? He just has to do everything himself.

Well, right as I was wondering how my purchasing male enhancement products from dodgy, semi-anonymous companies online could contribute to the greater good of America, and I considered delving beyond the mere subject line... get this:

Writer Jean Shepherd (A Christmas Story) emailed me, too! Which really impressed me, since not only didn't I envision him as being particularly tech-savvy, but he's also been dead for several years. I mean, now, I know the Internet is far-reaching, but this was absolutely astounding!

And what had our dear departed Mr. Shepherd come all the way from beyond the grave to say? What wisdom did he have to impart? His life's philosophy? The need to smoke fewer cigars? To share writing tips? Why, he came and created an email account to spread the word about...

Male enhancement!

I was starting to spot a trend.

Heh. It makes you sorta wonder what's in the spammers' minds, doesn't it? I mean, as far as marketing goes, perhaps we really are all self-absorbed enough to believe a famous person not only has our private email address but is going to take the time to send us a personalized note out of the blue.

But are we really out-of-touch enough to open and respond to email from fictional characters and dead celebs?

Maybe it's the spam equivalent of crank yanking. The email equivalent of calling and asking if Seymour Butz is there. The spammers are all at their computer terminals snickering and saying, "Let's see how they respond to... Bruce Wayne!"

And then they get this influx of payments from guys using their DC Comics special Dark Knight collector's edition Visa cards or something.

I don't know how it works, really.

And I guess I'll never find out, because my lack of response must have cut off my connection with the spirit world. Yes, indeedy, ol' Jean Shepherd never emailed me again. It's a shame, too, because I had a ton of questions about the writing process and--

Oh, wait: Charlotte Bronte just sent me a note! And it looks like she has an important message for me about timeshares in Nigeria.

I really hate to sidetrack her-- I mean, I don't get a lot of vacation time for a trip to Nigeria-- but while I have her attention, maybe I can ask her just a few questions about Jane Eyre...

What do you think? :)

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I wonder if Jack Bauer ever sends email to the folks at Humor-blogs?

Which E-mail Personality Type are YOU?

Forwards, spams, scams, notes from family and friends... It all ends up in our email Inboxes and we each have our own way of dealing with it.

So here at Of Cabbages and Kings, our diligent team of researchers... (okay, well, the Jane Austen bobblehead on my desk and I)

...have done an in-depth examination (spending a whole half hour)

...of the way Internet users approach email.

As a result of our exhaustive efforts (30 minutes, maybe 25)...

we have developed a wholly scientific and not at all overly-broad and archetypal list (lightning shoots down from the sky to strike me-- zot!)...

Of common personality types of today's e-mail communicators. Perhaps you know e-mailers whose style fits within these finely-tuned categories (off the top of my head)...

Or perhaps, like me, you're one of them yourself. We hope that you will share your experiences, so we can develop an even more precise (lightly tweaked) analysis in the future.

• "The Serial Forwarder." Whatever email enters this person's Inbox is so funny, interesting, or important, the Serial Forwarder can't resist sending it to everyone in their email address book. This person tends to send these forwards in clusters, as they go through their own email. So recipients are often bombarded with correspondence over a short period of time. Serial Forwarders also skim and send email quickly, taking no time to remove the email addresses of every other person who has also forwarded the message. This means the message is either one within the other to infinity, like a Russian nesting doll, or you must scroll miles southward to see the message. Note: this is the same person unlikely to ever have sent you a letter, because "stamps are expensive these days.

• "The Concerned Citizen." Similar to the Serial Forwarder in the penchant for passing along information, the Concerned Citizen tends to lean almost exclusively toward the Public Service aspects of e-mail forwarding. While this type is unlikely to send a hokey joke forward, they will ensure you (and all 300 of their closest friends) are aware that hook-handed men are breaking into cars in shopping malls to steal your kidneys. Concerned Citizens mean well, they really do, but would rather "play it safe" by forwarding, than by accidentally mistaking a real news story for an urban legend-- and then learning their friend or family member is dead and kidneyless. They don't know about Snopes.com.

• "The Ingenue." No matter what spam or scam ends up in this person's email box, they will believe the offer is real. Nigerian diplomats wanting to let them in on a quick cash, winning the Greater Mesopotamian Lotto in spite of never entering it, photographs showing the sinking of the Titanic was all a fake, these good, trusting folks are ready to believe.

• "The Enigma." This person rarely, if ever, gives context for why they're sending you the link or post that they e-mail. In some way, the piece has reminded them of you. And it is up to you to click and figure out just how it relates. A conversation you had three years ago? Something that may have happened in your local news? A story related to the former boyfriend of your cousin's ex-roommate? No summary, no inkling. Enigma's tend to require more time than other email personality types because the amount of time on your end for deciphering is inversely proportional to the amount of time it took them to write the message.

• "The Loud Talker." This person has been smart and brave enough to make the leap to computers, but writes everything using capital letters. This could be because they aren't fully familiar with the keyboard yet, or because they think capital letters are easier to read. What they don't understand is that online, writing all in caps is considered shouting. Be very, very careful when you explain to Loud Talkers the online etiquette regarding capital letters. They have accomplished much by learning to go online, and tend to be sensitive about their skills. Any implication of inadvertent wrongdoing may be taken very personally. Loud Talkers have been known to bite.

• "The Black Hole." This person has a valid email address, and knows how to operate their machine. But any e-mail you send them goes into the vast, matter-sucking void that is their Inbox, never to be seen again. An interesting aspect of The Black Hole is that this same person may contact you months or a year later, indicating they haven't heard from YOU in a while, as if you had neglected them.

• "The Fountain." This person has a lot to say, and is not afraid to say it. Each email is a novella, encapsulating the smallest details of any particular event. This information is rarely broken up by paragraphs, making it almost impossible to weed through on-screen. The Fountain tends to send these to your work email, so you can get the latest news immediately. Not that you can read it.

• "The Premature Sender." This person is still learning how to work the computer, and gets a bit over-excited about it. You never get a full email from them. Their communications die in mid-sentence because they clicked the mouse too soon. Expect a follow-up. Or three.

• "The Second Opinion Forwarder." I fall into this category, I'm afraid. This is the person who sees something that fascinates them personally online, and it's not good enough that he or she has read it themselves. Oh, no!-- it has to be shared with SOMEONE-- whether or not the recipient actually cares about the topic much or not. The Second Opinion Forwarder is also the type of person who, in any crowd, will witness something that is shocking and ask companions, "Did you see THAT?" No one ever has.

• "The Misinformation Avenger." This is the person who develops deep rage and frustration over the chaotic array of lies, inaccuracies and urban legends received from the Serial Forwarder, the Concerned Citizen and the Ingenue and feels it's his or her personal duty to use the email medium to try to disabuse these people of their notions and habits. The target of the Misinformation Avenger in these cases can range anywhere from mild acquaintances to dear old Mom. No one is exempt from their swift justice!

• "The Generous Newbie." Generous Newbies have just discovered the wonders of the Internet, and they are prepared to share it with YOU no matter how long you've been online. They may not barrage you with links and posts like the Serial Forwarder, but the ones they send are just great, amazing, hysterical and "Must see!"-- and you have. About a thousand times. From every new Generous Newbie that's come along. Since about 1993.
  

Which personality types seem familiar to you? Science is demanding to know! (PS- Special thanks to Stoneman and Techfun for their invaluable input on the last two personality types. Cheers, guys!)

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At Humor-blogs, they don't send you forwards expecting to see the Taco Bell dog magically appear once it's gone to 400 close friends.