4 ms·

There is something to be said for taking the reciever's context into account, but it's not possible or desirable to account for the state of their digestion &c

by Veen 6y ago

There is something to be said for taking the reciever's context into account, but it's not possible or desirable to account for the state of their digestion &c in every communication. An excess of empathy gets in the way of clear communication, and recievers should accept that their context is not completely available to senders. They have some responsibility to interpret charitably, and if they don't they're failing to follow basic principles of cooperative social interactions. A cruder way of putting it: you shouldn't expect everyone who talks to you to be minutely concerned with your personal shit.

datameta 6y ago
It is up to the person responding to take your message as they will. Reaching out and attempting to align with the party you are contacting is being vulnerable and has no guarantee of a favorable response - or one at all. However, that is something in itself that may either characterize the individual or could simply be a reflection of what they are currently going through. Some knowledge of this can be baked into the initial message to imply understanding of that person's situation in life, mental state, interests, etc. It is more difficult to connect with someone whose point of view you are oblivious to.