ATLANTA — Today we'll abandon the Q&A format and let the readers speak. In a recent column I mentioned various e-mail peeves, and the response — more than 200 comments — was too impressive to ignore. All were read and appreciated, and I've picked a few edited versions to share with the rest of you.
Jason Davis: Your suggestion for checking Snopes.com before forwarding an e-mail is excellent. For years, I have returned e-mails to the sender when they have sent items that were not factual. If you do check on something and find it to be factual and believe it is something that should be forwarded, then include a hyperlink to the Snopes Web site in your e-mail so your recipients can click on the link to get additional information.
Susan Harte: I have longtime friends who assume quite erroneously that I agree with their political stances. Occasionally, these e-mails are quite cruel and crude. I don't know how to stop such things without damaging the friendships, so I have taken to deleting them without reading them.
Nancy Riley: My pet peeve is when people forward a joke and they leave all the previous recipients at the top of the page instead of deleting them, so you have to scroll down through yards of e-mail addresses before you finally find what they sent you.
Joan Bryant: One pet peeve is for someone to forward more than one or two e-mails a day. How about 10 or 12 in one day! I think some of my e-mail buddies need a life sometimes!
Angie Claussen: This is mostly, but not exclusively, aimed at the younger readers. If we don't have the kind of relationship where you'd call me "hey, dude" or "hey, honey" when meeting me in person, don't use texting slang when writing to me. For example, use normal English and spellcheck when you e-mail. If you ask me for a job in "text speak," you won't likely get it cuz u r making me rofl.
John Keim: One e-mail which you might have overlooked is the type that is the political e-mails that are supporting one political leaning or the other. Some also want you to add your name at the bottom of a long list, supporting one cause or another. Many have long lists of previous e-mail recipients. Some ask you to forward these e-mails to many others. My political considerations are my business, and if I want to look at one issue or another, I will do that on my own.
Arnold Wilhelm: "Reply All" is the bane of my work existence. While it's fine when everyone needs the info, people in my quite large school district use it to share comments about everything. I tried to explain nicely to a very dear friend why she should stop hitting reply all, particularly regarding after school social events. Help!
Bill Smalley: I am barraged with photos taken by a friend. While it's fine to get an occasional snapshot, I do not need a day-to-day photographic diary of my friend's life. Give me a break and only occasionally send me a picture. Digital cameras have made this so easy and so annoying.
HAVE A QUESTION?
Please send your questions to Bill Husted at tecbud(at)bellsouth.net. While he reads every e-mail, not all are answered. E-mails are selected for publication based on the likelihood that the answers will be of general interest.