Last night, a friend accused me of writing emails that were too long...

[KansDem]

Now, I like to send emails to friends from time to time. But, apparently, I make them too long. I was talking to a friend last night and explained that sometimes I don't receive replies to my emails. He asked me to describe a typical email. I said usually long (much scrolling involved) and usually contained footnotes and bibliography. He laughed as said no one was reading them because they were too long and complex. He said email wasn't for that purpose. I countered by saying that they are as long as they need to be. He said that may be so, but people won't bother reading them if they don't have the time. I have another friend who sends me emails so short and succinct that at times they're difficult to comprehend. It's like he leaves out every other word and either abbreviates or truncates the rest.

So is there a "set standard" for emails?

[Mutley]

1. This thread is too long!

No, I'm kidding. Screw them if they don't want to read your emails.

[Shell Beau]

2. This is too long! I can't read it all.

:P Only kidding!

I am not big on e-mailing, so I don't know if there is proper lengths. I have to say I prefer straight to the point. But that is me.

[Dora]

3. Sure. An e-mail should be as long as a piece of string. nt

[KansDem]

4. ?

??
:(

[Solon]

5. I have the same problem and I've been called on it...

Usually I tell stories about my day or something, I'm very wordy, apparently, which I guess can be an annoyance. Also true on PMs on DU sometimes as well.

[KansDem]

15. Hi, Solon!

Apparently we have something else in common: we're too wordy! :hi:

[supernova]

6. Speaking as a Tech Writer and sometime mktg person

I stick to about a screenful at a time, if that. Lots of times, way less than that.

And you really have to grab people's interest in your first sentence. Otherwise they won't read it.

Ditto if it looks like one big block of unbroken text with no paragraphs or other breaks.

IOW, about the size of a DU Post a message box is sufficient.


It's likely that you're trying too hard. Possibly trying to cover too many topics in one e-mail? Instead of sending one long post, try sending one post per topic. And spacing them out. Not several a day, but maybe one a day. After all, your ultimate goal is to expose people to the material, yes?

edit: If you hav A LOT to say with footnotes and a bibliography, perhaps a blog is better. That way you can just send out links to people when you post a new entry. Those that are interested can then visit your blog. And you don't feel like you've wasted your time gathering material.

[KansDem]

8. Yes, I see you point...

After all, your ultimate goal is to expose people to the material, yes?

And that material is ME! :D

[MrCoffee]

7. You had me right up to "footnotes and bibliography"...

then I said the hell with it.


Email should be short.

[KansDem]

12. At times I refer to articles or chapters in books.

I feel a need to cite my sources or explain concepts.

Also, sometimes I need to tell a secondary story to highlight the primary story, so I often use footnotes for this purpose in order not to disrupt the flow and continuity of the main body of text.

[grace0418]

9. Perhaps people don't reply because they feel compelled to respond with an equally indepth email

and simply don't have the time. They tell themselves "I have to remember to sit down and write a long, thoughtful response to KansDem" but forget until it seems too late. I know because I do this. The people I want to respond to the MOST and at great length are often the people I respond to the least because I never have time to sit and write the kind of email I really want to write. And it seems silly to send an email that just says "Hi, thanks for the note! Miss you!" to someone who clearly spent a great deal of time writing an email.

[Phillycat]

13. ICAWTC.

I completely agree with this comment.

[KansDem]

14. Hey, I like this explanation!

A couple of my friends haven't responded to my last couple of emails, so I was worried they might have given up on me. But both of these friends are in academia, so perhaps they might feel compelled to respond with an equally indepth email.

Thanks for this explanation! :hi:

[grace0418]

21. You're welcome. One question, when you send long emails do you send them to

a whole bunch of people or just one person at a time? I have some friends who send me two kinds of emails, either forwarded items or long emails sent to a whole group of people. While I appreciate the thought and the emails might be very interesting (although, admittedly, some are not), if that's all I get from someone it starts to feel a little impersonal. Like I'm on a mailing list or something. I think a short, *personal* email once in awhile ("How's it going? I thought of you the other day when I heard a Crowded House song on the radio. I hope you're well. I'm fine, going to be moving soon. Give me a buzz sometime...." etc., you get the gist) is a nice way to establish a better connection. Plus, then the person can respond with an equally short but sweet note and not feel guilty for not writing more.

I don't know if that applies to you but I thought I'd throw that out there.

:hi:

[KansDem]

22. Actually, I never "forward" (except at work to colleagues) or maintain "group sends"

I too find them impersonal. Every personal email is sent to one person.

But I like the idea of a short, *personal* email once in awhile. Maybe I'll give that a try! :)

[DS1]

10. tl;dr

[redqueen]

16. Aha... NOW I get what that means.

:think:

[Phillycat]

17. "too long; delete"...something?

[DS1]

18. didn't read

:rofl:

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

11. tl;dr.

[zanne]

20. I had to find "Anacronym Finder" to look that up.

http://www.acronymfinder.com/

It took about as long as it would take to read a long email.:hi:

[Deep13]

19. What? Sorry, you lost me at "friend accused."

:-) It's not that e-mails can't be used for long notes, but that people check email at times and places were they can't do more than make a quick peek, often with divided attention.

Despite it being somewhat passe, the best way to send a note that will be read is by Post Office.

[KansDem]

26. You know, letter and card writing as never been my forte

...until recently. All through youth I avoided writing cards and letters. And I'm sure I was considered "rude" for this. But, it's only been in the last few years that I began to understand the personal touch that goes into handwriting a short note to someone. Upon returning from a trip to the west coast last fall, I wrote notes to everyone I visited--there was a time I'd just call and say "Thanks for the dinner," or "Thanks for putting me up for the night"--and so far three of these friends have commented on these notes and complemented me. It was a good feeling! :)

I wish I'd have "discovered" this earlier in life...

edited for spelling...

[Xithras]

23. Been accused of the same thing.

People just don't have the attention spans for LETTERS nowadays.

[Shakespeare]

24. "Signs your emails may be too long...."

Footnotes? Series? :wow:

[Pacifist Patriot]

25. I'm sorry, you lost me after "last night, a"