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Very Short Reply Expected

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Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#141

Post by sliverstorm »

lowboy wrote: post #64
andrewvc wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you've got it all wrong! Geeks aren't socially awkward, they're socially "efficient" Social conventions aren't established by protocol drafts, they're organic. Also, people write long replies for a reason. Wording indicates emotional state. If you have trouble reading emotional state, you don't care. If, like most people, you do care, then this proposal is ridiculous. An example: "How about we schedule lunch next…

And organic things can be inefficient.

As we are not organic beings, clearly it would be foolish of us to accept such unnecessary inefficiencies.

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#142

Post by sliverstorm »

andrewflnr wrote: post #77
lowboy wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is communication about consensus? You can put others off and still communicate "correctly".

Protocols are about consensus, almost by definition. In computer protocols, we get the consensus before we start using the protocol. In social interactions, we're molding the protocol as we use it. As for communicating "correctly", it's a matter of (mostly) definitions and circumstances whether putting people off and "correct" communication are consistent. You may have transmitted the correct information to someone's…

In computer protocols, we get the consensus before we start using the protocol.

VSRP analogue in computing: Unannounced, start omitting headers in response to HTTP requests. They are unnecessary baggage that gets in the way of the actual content of the message.

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#144

Post by kyro »

I think people tend to grossly exaggerate how many emails they really do get. Are you really that damn busy that you can't spend a minute or less writing a more natural and conversational reply that indicates to the other person that you're reciprocating the amount of thought and effort they invested in their message?

I agree with some others here in saying that this is awkward. You don't strive for efficiency in social interactions. You stay an extra couple of minutes to let a friend babble on about a story you don't care about because you're socially tactful and tact is the lubricant that preserves our social relationships.

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#145

Post by heurist »

pbiggar wrote: post #22
chucknibbleston wrote: post #14

I find "VSRE" unnecessary: if you write efficiently, anyone capable of a VSR will follow suit.

Writing "efficiently" can be rude. Look at his example. You can't just reply with only the word "no", because that's rude.

Why do you need to write a long reply to say no? His example can be shortened to:

Dear John,

Thank you ..., I would be happy to ... but unfortunately I am unavailable. Please [....]

Sincerely,

A. Guy

This shortened version takes as much thought as the 'very short' version and doesn't require a new acronym. There are cases where the longer reply would work better, but most of the time you don't need to give your reasons for saying no to someone. I'd say his response is pretty formal, and that's probably unnecessary for 95% of the unsolicited email he gets. In less formal responses you can convey some enthusiasm (real or not) with an exclamation mark, and that removes the potential rudeness ("Hi John, Thanks for your interest! Unfortunately I am not available that weekend. Best of luck, A. Guy"). Translating emotion to or from text does require a little bit of effort but it's really no different than normal spoken conversation.

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#147

Post by y0z »

Another initiative along a similar vein that I tried for a while is called 5Sentences: http://five.sentenc.es/

I have tried to adopt the principle now, without including it in my footers.

In the environment that I'm in something like this would be great if everyone could adopt it - very few would in reality.

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#148

Post by Mindless2112 »

raldi wrote: post #61
Wintamute wrote: post #53

The most viral/popular acronyms are easily pronounceable, I think. Acronyms like lol, rofl, afaik, imho etc. Not that you go around saying them all the time, but you can easily pronounce them in your own head so I think they tend to stick there and flow into your text easily. Maybe something along the lines of "sro" (short reply ok) would be better ...

How do you pronounce "RSVP"?

"rizvup" according to a Charlie Brown cartoon -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRLhfL1UZoM#t=432s

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#149

Post by andrewljohnson »

kyro wrote: post #144

I think people tend to grossly exaggerate how many emails they really do get. Are you really that damn busy that you can't spend a minute or less writing a more natural and conversational reply that indicates to the other person that you're reciprocating the amount of thought and effort they invested in their message? I agree with some others here in saying that this is awkward. You don't strive for efficiency in soc…

Many people do eventually get so many emails that they have to think about how to manage them better. I don't think his solution is very good - he probably should just not write back to every email, or just write back curtly without some odd acronym. People get used to it, and if they don't like it, they email you less.

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#150

Post by ap3rson »

rattray wrote: post #133
andrewvc wrote: post #40

Annnnnnd this is why geeks have a reputation for social awkwardness.

Many of my most truncated email responses have come from executives and other businesspeople. VSRE sounds great for anyone with limited time, and sufficient trust. I'd feel good using something like this with another person who I know well, or know to be businesslike. I wouldn't use this with someone I don't know well in a social context.

I think that for a lot of the execs truncation is a well established way to communicate self-importance.
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