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Keep going! Don't forget: There's nothing bad about no-response - People are much more likely to respond on the web and email when you're wrong. ;)

Mediterraneo10 8y ago
> There's nothing bad about no-response - People are much more likely to respond on the web and email when you're wrong. ;) There certainly could be something bad about no-response. As someone in academia who gets uninformed musings or crackpot theories from laypeople in his mailbox from time to time, no-response basically means “I know you are wrong, seriously wrong (and, in many crackpot cases, probably mentally ill), but I am not going to just waste my time trying to tell you that.”
- dgacmu 8y ago
  As someone else in academia who gets his share of crackpot emails, no response can also mean "oh god, I don't have time to think about this when I have 1000 other emails from my students and colleagues". (I'm particularly horrid at email.). So I wouldn't take it personally.
- Senderman 8y ago
  It sounds to me like you should have a prewritten response for people who were interested enough to contact you, but who don't know where to start.
  - Mediterraneo10 8y ago
    I am sceptical of the ability of laymen to even meaningfully understand the field that I am in enough to contribute their own ideas. The amount of literature that would have to be read and assimilated is vast, really achievable only for academics. My prewritten response would only be “Do at least an MA in this field, then we’ll talk”.
    - clarry 8y ago
      What is the field?
    - Senderman 8y ago
      I genuinely think that's a good response. Maybe the majority of recipients won't act, or they'll even take offense, but if somebody in there chose to contact you because they look up to your position, you could easily find in a few years that you challenged somebody to get on the right track with one of those responses. Some people are on the fence and looking for a push. Obviously it's up to you, but I think it's worth a shot.

Mediterraneo10 8y ago

> There's nothing bad about no-response - People are much more likely to respond on the web and email when you're wrong. ;) There certainly could be something bad about no-response. As someone in academia who gets uninformed musings or crackpot theories from laypeople in his mailbox from time to time, no-response basically means “I know you are wrong, seriously wrong (and, in many crackpot cases, probably mentally ill), but I am not going to just waste my time trying to tell you that.”

dgacmu 8y ago
As someone else in academia who gets his share of crackpot emails, no response can also mean "oh god, I don't have time to think about this when I have 1000 other emails from my students and colleagues". (I'm particularly horrid at email.). So I wouldn't take it personally.
Senderman 8y ago
It sounds to me like you should have a prewritten response for people who were interested enough to contact you, but who don't know where to start.
- Mediterraneo10 8y ago
  I am sceptical of the ability of laymen to even meaningfully understand the field that I am in enough to contribute their own ideas. The amount of literature that would have to be read and assimilated is vast, really achievable only for academics. My prewritten response would only be “Do at least an MA in this field, then we’ll talk”.
  - clarry 8y ago
    What is the field?
  - Senderman 8y ago
    I genuinely think that's a good response. Maybe the majority of recipients won't act, or they'll even take offense, but if somebody in there chose to contact you because they look up to your position, you could easily find in a few years that you challenged somebody to get on the right track with one of those responses. Some people are on the fence and looking for a push. Obviously it's up to you, but I think it's worth a shot.