4 ms·

> In business communications, I believe it's common courtesy to respond to emails within 24 hours. Different stroke for different folks, but I'm still very muc

> In business communications, I believe it's common courtesy to respond to emails within 24 hours. Different stroke for different folks, but I'm still very much in the paradigm where email is more like a letter in the mail, not like a text message, IM, or "please return my call" voicemail. [0] Of course I recognize that email is often used for time-sensitive matters (like scheduling events), but any time I see an email that is likely to require multiple timely backs-and-forths I'll try to move the conversation to a more suitable medium. [0] Here I'm referring to solicited emails sent by humans or transactional emails triggered directly by a human interaction. In practice our email inboxes also serve as a general "notifications hub" for all sorts of things including recurring events ("remember to pay your bill") and, of course, unsolicited junk.

carlosjobim 8mo ago
There are only two suitable mediums: E-Mail or phone call.
- deleted 8mo ago
  [deleted]
- ctpmpse 8mo ago
  async vs sync
- miyoji 8mo ago
  If you try to contact me with a phone call, you might as well send your message into outer space. You'll have better luck getting a response from aliens. 99% of incoming calls to my phone are spam. I won't pick up an unknown number unless someone has already contacted me and told me to be expecting a phone call, or it's a call from someone I already know (people I already know don't call me either). That is to say, your mileage may vary on what counts as a "suitable medium".
  - nkrisc 8mo ago
    Used to be that people had phones at the desk at work and a voicemail inbox. In a business situation I would expect most people to be reachable by phone.
    - prmoustache 8mo ago
      I haven't had a phone at work for the last 7 years.
      - jll29 8mo ago
        This reminds me: when people insist on having a real phone call in an email, it could be something that they don't like to put in writing. So it's a good practice to ask what the topic of the phone call will be so that you can join it prepared. If it indeed is something that you feel might be fishy, I further recommend the following: write a summary of what was discussed and send your summary to the people on the call as "meeting minutes -- 2026-02-11" (make this a habit, and always say "I do this routinely to remember what was agreed"). This can easily avoid you being trapped by dubious propsals or being unwittingly on the wrong side of the law.
        prmoustache 8mo ago
        You can ask at the beginning of the call if it can be recorded.
        dotancohen 8mo ago
        I record my phone calls for personal records. Often I won't hear or remember details, so the recording helps. Are there legal or other situations in which meeting minutes would be admissible in evidence, but a recording would not be? Obviously this is jurisdiction dependent.
        djhn 8mo ago
        Which phone and which software?
  - carlosjobim 8mo ago
    If you're not reachable neither by phone nor by e-mail, then it's assumed you want to be left alone.
- SoftTalker 8mo ago
  I don't even have a phone at work. Haven't for years.
RupertSalt 8mo ago
Have you routinely received letters or bills from bureaucrats? I can tell you that those banks, government agencies, and hospitals know how to backdate letters, postmark them like clockwork, and land in my mailbox on a Friday at close of business on a 3-day weekend, just to jam us up and narrow any deadline that may exist. Even a hand-delivered notice from the landlady shows up at 6:01pm when the office is already closed. I guarantee that you will be helpless to respond in a timely fashion. It has been suggested that "bankers hours" and 9-5 office hours were originated specifically to jam up the working man, who needed to be in the mines or on the factory floor during those hours. If a bank actually wanted to serve working people, they would be open on weekends. Traditionally it was not something your wife or kids could proxy, if they did not drive or have authorization, but the single working man was doubly screwed in these situations. This year I also have the experience of very premature "billing notices" sent to my email and text and every other place, where the bureaucrats are counting on impatience to pay a bill far too early, before it is due, luring you in with ambiguous wording. People today are warning "do not comply in advance" and I am observing this maxim with health care billing in particular.
- jstanley 8mo ago
  I'm confused, are you upset about receiving letters that don't give you enough time to act, or that give you too much time to act?
  - RupertSalt 8mo ago
    yes
  - RupertSalt 8mo ago
    It's squeezing from both ends. If a bureaucracy sends out a thing that requires followup/action, and it arrives right before the sidewalks are rolled up, then the citizen is sort of flailing for days. Might even forget to act at 9am on Tuesday. Government websites include a lot of scheduled maintenance. Also, that letter they wrote will be dated at least 10 days before you received it. I carefully staple all correspondence to the envelope with postmarks. If someone induces me to pay a bill 60-90 days early, that is my loss and their gain. Money in my bank is working for me, available, perhaps earning interest. Money in their bank is sunk. For this reason and others, it can be an error to pay your bills too early. I recently ordered on Christmas Day from a catalog. They charged my card right away. They still haven't delivered some of the items. Vendors shouldn't be taking your payment until the stuff is shipped. Businesses won't pay invoices until the goods/services are received and verified! As I said, bureaucracies run like clockwork, and they will always act at the right time and date. It will disadvantage the best of us. Any office worker knows the difference in character between the email that arrived at 9am on Monday, vs. the memo sent at 11am on Wednesday, or the phone call coming in at 4:59pm on Friday...
alsetmusic 8mo ago
> Different stroke for different folks, but I'm still very much in the paradigm where email is more like a letter in the mail, not like a text message, IM, or "please return my call" voicemail. I moved from a company that operated under that paradigm (Slack was the primary mode of internal comms) to one that treats email as the primary mode of comms. It was a minor challenge to start watching my inbox and keep it at zero-unread (something I don't care about at all in my personal emails). Feels natural to me now when I'm in work-mode.

carlosjobim 8mo ago

There are only two suitable mediums: E-Mail or phone call.

deleted 8mo ago
[deleted]
ctpmpse 8mo ago
async vs sync
miyoji 8mo ago
If you try to contact me with a phone call, you might as well send your message into outer space. You'll have better luck getting a response from aliens. 99% of incoming calls to my phone are spam. I won't pick up an unknown number unless someone has already contacted me and told me to be expecting a phone call, or it's a call from someone I already know (people I already know don't call me either). That is to say, your mileage may vary on what counts as a "suitable medium".
- nkrisc 8mo ago
  Used to be that people had phones at the desk at work and a voicemail inbox. In a business situation I would expect most people to be reachable by phone.
  - prmoustache 8mo ago
    I haven't had a phone at work for the last 7 years.
    - jll29 8mo ago
      This reminds me: when people insist on having a real phone call in an email, it could be something that they don't like to put in writing. So it's a good practice to ask what the topic of the phone call will be so that you can join it prepared. If it indeed is something that you feel might be fishy, I further recommend the following: write a summary of what was discussed and send your summary to the people on the call as "meeting minutes -- 2026-02-11" (make this a habit, and always say "I do this routinely to remember what was agreed"). This can easily avoid you being trapped by dubious propsals or being unwittingly on the wrong side of the law.
      - prmoustache 8mo ago
        You can ask at the beginning of the call if it can be recorded.
      - dotancohen 8mo ago
        I record my phone calls for personal records. Often I won't hear or remember details, so the recording helps. Are there legal or other situations in which meeting minutes would be admissible in evidence, but a recording would not be? Obviously this is jurisdiction dependent.
        djhn 8mo ago
        Which phone and which software?
- carlosjobim 8mo ago
  If you're not reachable neither by phone nor by e-mail, then it's assumed you want to be left alone.
SoftTalker 8mo ago
I don't even have a phone at work. Haven't for years.

RupertSalt 8mo ago

Have you routinely received letters or bills from bureaucrats? I can tell you that those banks, government agencies, and hospitals know how to backdate letters, postmark them like clockwork, and land in my mailbox on a Friday at close of business on a 3-day weekend, just to jam us up and narrow any deadline that may exist. Even a hand-delivered notice from the landlady shows up at 6:01pm when the office is already closed. I guarantee that you will be helpless to respond in a timely fashion. It has been suggested that "bankers hours" and 9-5 office hours were originated specifically to jam up the working man, who needed to be in the mines or on the factory floor during those hours. If a bank actually wanted to serve working people, they would be open on weekends. Traditionally it was not something your wife or kids could proxy, if they did not drive or have authorization, but the single working man was doubly screwed in these situations. This year I also have the experience of very premature "billing notices" sent to my email and text and every other place, where the bureaucrats are counting on impatience to pay a bill far too early, before it is due, luring you in with ambiguous wording. People today are warning "do not comply in advance" and I am observing this maxim with health care billing in particular.

jstanley 8mo ago
I'm confused, are you upset about receiving letters that don't give you enough time to act, or that give you too much time to act?
- RupertSalt 8mo ago
  yes
- RupertSalt 8mo ago
  It's squeezing from both ends. If a bureaucracy sends out a thing that requires followup/action, and it arrives right before the sidewalks are rolled up, then the citizen is sort of flailing for days. Might even forget to act at 9am on Tuesday. Government websites include a lot of scheduled maintenance. Also, that letter they wrote will be dated at least 10 days before you received it. I carefully staple all correspondence to the envelope with postmarks. If someone induces me to pay a bill 60-90 days early, that is my loss and their gain. Money in my bank is working for me, available, perhaps earning interest. Money in their bank is sunk. For this reason and others, it can be an error to pay your bills too early. I recently ordered on Christmas Day from a catalog. They charged my card right away. They still haven't delivered some of the items. Vendors shouldn't be taking your payment until the stuff is shipped. Businesses won't pay invoices until the goods/services are received and verified! As I said, bureaucracies run like clockwork, and they will always act at the right time and date. It will disadvantage the best of us. Any office worker knows the difference in character between the email that arrived at 9am on Monday, vs. the memo sent at 11am on Wednesday, or the phone call coming in at 4:59pm on Friday...

alsetmusic 8mo ago

> Different stroke for different folks, but I'm still very much in the paradigm where email is more like a letter in the mail, not like a text message, IM, or "please return my call" voicemail. I moved from a company that operated under that paradigm (Slack was the primary mode of internal comms) to one that treats email as the primary mode of comms. It was a minor challenge to start watching my inbox and keep it at zero-unread (something I don't care about at all in my personal emails). Feels natural to me now when I'm in work-mode.