I suppose I could get a blog post out of this, but I can't be bothered, so: Please learn to use a phone to make a voice call. I value effective written commun

I suppose I could get a blog post out of this, but I can't be bothered, so: Please learn to use a phone to make a voice call. I value effective written communication, but part of effective communication is understanding your audience, and in many situations, you audience is only a handful of people. In that case it is a much more efficient use of your time, and theirs, to just have a conversation. IRC or IM is a reasonable substitute, and a face-to-face conversation, if practical, is even better. (Writing this in a spare moment before talking to someone face-to-face. Last night I spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out how to address the issue over email before concluding that a short conversation would be more effective)