Email Etiquette
About three or four times a year, I feel the necessity of making a few humble requests regarding email. If you aren’t emailing me, please skip this post and go on to the next.
Anyone sending in an article or video idea, these comments don’t apply to you. I’m happy and grateful to receive your help with this task. It’s emails that are not needed that I wish to focus on.
By way of background, my inbasket reached proportions this morning where I stopped dead in my tracks and realized that it was beyond my ability to empty. And even if I did, it would just fill up again by late afternoon.
I’m now procrastinating around reading the 70-80 emails that have arrived since the last time I emptied it at 10:00 a.m. this morning. This is the first time I’ve reached a point of saying I don’t think I can face it.
I actually plan to take the rest of the day off. I declare a bank holiday. I need to recover the balance which the sight of a mountain of email has had me lose.
Let me review some problematic situations with the hopes that they will magically disappear.
There are a few people who write me every day, sometimes two or three times a day, giving me their reactions to matters or their take on subjects. I can’t manage that kind of continuous connection unless you’re sending really gemaine article or video suggestions. Really germaine.
If you won’t break off an endless series of emails, regretfully I’ll have to reroute your emails to email hell, the fiery lake of brimstone, and you wouldn’t want that, right?
Some send irregular 1-2 page-long comments on matters of concern. Again mail this long is beyond my ability to read unless very, very germaine. Like the U.N. Secretary General writing to say why BRICS did not disclose this month. Steadily-long emails I may not be able to read at all in the future, unless there’s a really good reason to, stated at the outset.
Some send emails with “you have to publish this one.” I have a variety of criteria I apply when I publish and need to be allowed to apply them, not urged or requested to suspend them for no stated or apparent reason.
Others say “watch this video and give me your opinion.” I find this a tad frustrating.
Two things about it. If you have a video suggestion please let me know why I should watch it. Not enough time now to watch videos purely on spec.
And, if you think about asking me to give an opinion for a moment, an opinion on what aspect of things? Everything? One specific thing? What happens if I give you my opinion and it isn’t on the thing you wanted an opinion on? When one is flat-out busy, a free-floating request for an opinion can bring things to a halt.
Finally, one type of email that can be dispensed with is sending a response with simply “Thank you, Steve.” It adds to the sighs of seeing a bulging in-basket and then produces a letdown when the email is opened. No need to thank me. Let’s just assume that that is understood. I know you’re being polite and kind, and I appreciate that, really I do. But the time factor weighs more heavily at the moment than the exigencies of normal etiquette.
I’m sure other lightworkers have similar reactions. Every competent writer has hundreds if not thousands of readers. It can be a bit daunting at times if many readers want contact with one writer. The time spent answering emails is time away from researching and writing. I don’t want to dispense with emails, but I also want to respond to the inner muse, the inner urge to write.
Thanks for listening. Please forgive me if I’ve stated anything poorly.
Comments are closed.
You’re right Steve.
You created a pretty good site and a community was created around you and overgrown your capabilities. Many people reading your articles get inspiration from them. Questions arose in them that they want to discuss. But, comments – where we could discuss with each other – are disabled (I don’t know why)…
I think people – at least for me – just want to help you, support you, just expressing themselves this way.
I was thinking how it could be easier for you and the best I found out is to create a site-email and ask someone to process that mailbox for you and filter those messages that are worth publishing or spending time.
And maybe try to enable comments in what people could share ideas related to articles.
Peter
PS: at least you know why most of rock stars drink a lot
Hi Steve,
I read your wonderfully written articles everyday and am most appreciative of everything you post on 2012 Scenario since I rarely get my news anywhere else—nor do I want to. That said, I agree with Peter in that perhaps you could reopen the comments again (I miss it very much), so that all of your rock star ‘fans’ (I do mean that with all sincerity) can express themselves. Many times I’ve wanted to make a comment and felt frustrated that I couldn’t and knowing that you were busy, I refrained from sending you an email.
As a suggestion, you could open a few articles for comments but would refrain from commenting on them yourself as this was why you closed off the comments in the first place as I recall. You were overwhelmed with too much work by monitoring and responding to all of the comments.
Your Groupie,
Shelley
Thanks, Shelley. We have travelled a long way together, have we not?
Shelley, opening comments would do me in for sure. I was surprised to see these comments. I’m not sure how that happened. But I suppose it’s best to leave this article open now that it is.
You may recall that I had to close comments earlier because the work involved in reading them was more than I could do. That was when we were at 12,000 hits a day. Now we’re at 30,000 hits. After disclosure, that will shoot up.
Thanks for the thought though.
I haven’t figured out what to do but I’m going to need to soon. I saw today that I can’t maintain this pace much longer.
Namaste,
Steve
So sorry it is so overwhelming for you.
Thanks for the oportunity to express ourselves in the comment section. I hope we can all behave ourselves and not make you crazy there too. I was more than halfway thru those videos you took down. I got so depressed, I couldnt watch anymore. Thank God, you took it down. I am so glad I didnt even see the stuff about the President. I am so appreciative for the response from SaLuSa, and Matthew. They must have felt we truely needed thier input! I dont bother to send in any articles I run across any more. Usually, when I get to your site, it is already there any way. I do miss the days when I felt we could chat, but I knew some time ago, that part of our ‘relationship’ was over. I am so grateful your site is sooooo succesful, and I find you quoted everywhere!! I say to myself, “Thats my friend, Steve.” For me, it is a wonderful feeling. I only hope you can feel wonderful too, despite the email overwhelm.
Much love and gratitude!
Patte
Short n’ sweeet, people!
On submissions:
By now we should be able to maintain spin on the ball, without skipping a beat. Every time we plug ourselves in the material submitted, it eats at this dynamic that Steve has nurtured.
On comments:
We know the path of the Ascended ones, with supplemental material from proven sources posted regularly. On this fat n’ happy diet the ‘obvious troll is obvious’; and we are not beyond self- moderation. I say bring it.