Very Short Reply Expected • Hacker News Board

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#91

Post by FiloSottile » Sun, Apr 21, 2013, 11:50 PM UTC

I'm going to use it, and I'd love to receive emails tagged as such.

So, submitted to the Urban Dictionary!

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#92

Post by vectorpush » Sun, Apr 21, 2013, 11:57 PM UTC

Until this thread I honestly thought I was the only person who spends time agonizing over the wording of simple replies.

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#93

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Apr 22, 2013, 12:01 AM UTC

lwat wrote: post #50

TeMPOraL wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not social awkwardness. This is social efficiency.

You say efficient, we say awkward.

[deleted]

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#94

Post by rocky1138 » Mon, Apr 22, 2013, 12:03 AM UTC

The only thing I'd change with this is 'E' to 'O' for OK. "Expected" is just a bit too pushy. What if I don't want to reply at all?

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#95

Post by waterlesscloud » Mon, Apr 22, 2013, 12:03 AM UTC

andrewvc wrote: post #63

lwat wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say efficient, we say awkward.

Communication is about consensus. You can contend that you're right all day long, but so long as you put others off you'll be wrong.

Indeed.

Think about that carefully.

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#96

Post by nemonoko » Mon, Apr 22, 2013, 12:04 AM UTC

I wish email came with a YES/NO embed button. Even a RECEIVED/READ button would be useful. Recipient can hit those buttons and move on... Sender knows the status and can move on.

I know you can embed Google Forms, but don't know if they work for all email clients. Anyone use them?

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#97

Post by nemonoko » Mon, Apr 22, 2013, 12:06 AM UTC

blantonl wrote: post #82

asveikau wrote: post #76

One thing I've noticed is that people who expect short replies sometimes write very short mails to begin with. I think that might be more effective to set expectations than coming up with a new acronym and having to wait for it to catch on (if ever). If the content you need a short reply to is a bit longer, you can also write a short summary before the longer part. Something like "Below is blah blah blah, wondering i…

I believe that Steve Jobs was one that practiced this when dealing with customers. And it seamed like his responses were always dead on target - whereas a PR team would launch into a long winded response to a customer, Steve summed it up in one sentence. That surely drove Apple's PR team crazy...

I've seen people who are great at short emails... but I've also seen a lot of miscommunication when people shoot fragments back and forth. It's a fine line between concise and useless.

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#98

Post by magoon » Mon, Apr 22, 2013, 12:07 AM UTC

I sometimes end emails/IM questions with "Yes/No?"

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#99

Post by davefp » Mon, Apr 22, 2013, 12:10 AM UTC

Under what situation would a short reply not be acceptable?

Seems to me that VSRE/VSRO telegraphs what should be known anyway. I don't like it.

Re: Very Short Reply Expected

#100

Post by charlieok » Mon, Apr 22, 2013, 12:12 AM UTC

How about a friendly footer: “Short, one or two word replies are not only ok, they are much appreciated!”