Discussion: View Thread

I, too, am frustrated with some of the "Internet Communications Errors" on
this list. And, let me say that this list compared to others I participate
in is particularly bad, though I'm not sure why. Common errors I see are:

1) Replying or sending to all when inappropriate. The most common example
of this is the common "unsubscribe" request that is sent to the list
instead of the list server. Most recently, another example surfaced when a
poster offered some information and asked that those interested email him
(yes, this is the Send Secret case) - way to many people simply replied to
the list. I believe in many cases people who do this are being lazy or
careless (they don't read carefully or think about what they are doing)
more often than they simply don't know proper "netiquette". Please be
careful and address your reply to the appropriate person(s); this is not
always the list.

2) Sending attachments. Not everyone has unlimited bandwidth and uses
email software that handles attachments. In addition, some (like myself)
use the "digest" feature offered by the MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU list server
and in digest mode these attachments are converted to ascii text and
appended to the message. This makes for a very long message with
meaningless text included. Please don't assume everyone has an email setup
like yours!

3) Including way too much in a reply. I have seen entire digests included
in a reply to this list. More common is a copy of the message to which
this is a reply - which may itself be a reply and contain other
messages. I have seen nested replies 3 or 4 or even more deep! You say
"oh, but it can be ignored as it is on the bottom of the message" but this
is not always the case - again, some of us use the digest feature which
collects all messages for the day into one message. Please review your
reply before pressing "send" and trim out excess text.

4) Jumping on an original poster when those who reply inappropriately are
the problem. The original poster of the "Send Secrets" email was not the
problem recently - it was all those who replied inappropriately to the
list! I think too many people jumped on him and missed the point; his was
not an inappropriate post as he clearly stated that those interested in the
article he had to offer (which he properly did not attach) should email
directly to him.

So, please think before you reply, and then review what you are about to
post in reply and think again before you hit "send". Thank you.

----------
Richard S. Brooks, Ph.D. voice: (650) 725-7287
Director, Internal Consulting Services fax: (650) 723-1137
c/o HR Services - 655 Serra St.
Stanford, CA 94305-6110 email: Richard.Brooks@stanford.edu

List,
I have to admit that I have NOT been frustrated by any of the "mistakes"
but I understand the frustration that some members feel. As management
educators many of us spend considerable time talking with our students
about performance management issues. It might be helpful for us to visit
them here as well with the goal of "solving" the problems and thereby
reducing the frustration of some.

For example, from task performance literature we might extract a general
model that describes performance as a function of ability, motivation, and
the environment. Or we could use Attribution Theory logic to think of
behavior as a function of ability, motivation, task difficulty or luck. In
either case, there are external causes and internal causes of behavior.

Looking at the current problems through the lense of Attribution Theory and
reading many of the posts that have addressed the behavior problems on this
list it is clear that the problems (e.g., "unsubscribe" requests) have
often been attributed to the individual (i.e., an internal cause), and more
specifically, it seems that motivation of the individual(s) has been
assigned the cause by many of those who have responded to the problem
behaviors with frustration. This is to be expected; many researchers have
concluded that observers of behavior problems tend to assign blame to the
actor (i.e., the person who performed). Questions for the group are: "Are
we making correct attribtutions?" or "Should some of the behavior problems
be attributed to external causes?" We should beware of the tendency to
assign blame to the actor. If our goal is to "fix" the problem then we must
search for the "true" source of the problem, and it may be something
associated with the environment.

Another avenue to consider is literatures on "community" and "culture" -
What are the processes we use to socialize new members? How can these
processes be enhanced to minimize behavior problems in the future? Do our
responses to behavior problems tend to cause individuals to leave the
group? Are we creating a homogenous group? What do we value and how do
members learn of these values? etc.

My main incentive for writing this post is that many of the comments that
are being posted now are ones that will not solve a systematic or external
cause. There are messages directed at educating current members. There have
been messages that have directed at motoivation of current members, but
what about a member who joins today or tomorrow or two eeeks from now? If
any of the problems have external causes they will not be solved.
Frustration by some will continue.


Daniel M. Eveleth
College of Business and Economics
University of Idaho
Moscow, Idaho 84844-3178
(208) 885-4396
mail to: eveleth@uidaho.edu

I am in total agreement with Daniel. Whenever list members make
dispositional attributions or blame other list members for "alleged"
ignorance of etiquette, the likelihood of frustration and conflict
increases. It is for better for us to identify the issue and try to find a
rational solution that is acceptable to most list members.
-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Eveleth [mailto:eveleth@UIDAHO.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 1999 12:24 PM
To: MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
Subject: Re: Email faux-pas


List,
I have to admit that I have NOT been frustrated by any of the "mistakes"
but I understand the frustration that some members feel. As management
educators many of us spend considerable time talking with our students
about performance management issues. It might be helpful for us to visit
them here as well with the goal of "solving" the problems and thereby
reducing the frustration of some.

For example, from task performance literature we might extract a general
model that describes performance as a function of ability, motivation, and
the environment. Or we could use Attribution Theory logic to think of
behavior as a function of ability, motivation, task difficulty or luck. In
either case, there are external causes and internal causes of behavior.

Looking at the current problems through the lense of Attribution Theory and
reading many of the posts that have addressed the behavior problems on this
list it is clear that the problems (e.g., "unsubscribe" requests) have
often been attributed to the individual (i.e., an internal cause), and more
specifically, it seems that motivation of the individual(s) has been
assigned the cause by many of those who have responded to the problem
behaviors with frustration. This is to be expected; many researchers have
concluded that observers of behavior problems tend to assign blame to the
actor (i.e., the person who performed). Questions for the group are: "Are
we making correct attribtutions?" or "Should some of the behavior problems
be attributed to external causes?" We should beware of the tendency to
assign blame to the actor. If our goal is to "fix" the problem then we must
search for the "true" source of the problem, and it may be something
associated with the environment.

Another avenue to consider is literatures on "community" and "culture" -
What are the processes we use to socialize new members? How can these
processes be enhanced to minimize behavior problems in the future? Do our
responses to behavior problems tend to cause individuals to leave the
group? Are we creating a homogenous group? What do we value and how do
members learn of these values? etc.

My main incentive for writing this post is that many of the comments that
are being posted now are ones that will not solve a systematic or external
cause. There are messages directed at educating current members. There have
been messages that have directed at motoivation of current members, but
what about a member who joins today or tomorrow or two eeeks from now? If
any of the problems have external causes they will not be solved.
Frustration by some will continue.


Daniel M. Eveleth
College of Business and Economics
University of Idaho
Moscow, Idaho 84844-3178
(208) 885-4396
mail to: eveleth@uidaho.edu

On 14 Dec 99, at 12:48, Paul Wong wrote:

> I am in total agreement with Daniel. Whenever list members make
> dispositional attributions or blame other list members for "alleged"
> ignorance of etiquette, the likelihood of frustration and conflict
> increases. It is for better for us to identify the issue and try to find a
> rational solution that is acceptable to most list members.

Ok, I'm game. So perhaps you/we can address how:

We can prevent possible virus laden attachments (actually, I think
Charles has addressed this).
We can prevent unnecessary unsubscribe requests sent to the
wrong place.
We can educate people on the impact of their actions on the list
community.
We can prevent having to deal with "me too" or "yes, I'd like a
copy" messages which are irrelevant to everyone but the person it
should have been addressed to.

Paul, actually, one of the problems is that so long as people are
unaware or their own lack of knowledge about the internet and how
lists work, these situations are going to re-occur. In the jargon, that
lack of awareness of now knowing (the unconscious incompetence
term applies here) is the root cause of the problem.

But if you have suggestions about constructive solutions, then that
would be great.


Visit the work911.com supersite at http://www.work911.com for work related articles, or to find almost anything including lists
.

Hello all,

With regard to email faux pas, it seems to me that every list I'm on --
even some of my techy lists -- have these same problems. I remember the
first time I unsubscribed incorrectly from a list and how astonished I
was to see my unsub posting go out to the list. It made a big impression
on me and gave me the information I needed -- that I wasn't doing things
correctly! Even though I am quite experienced now, I still make an
error once in a while.

The requests for tolerance are helpful. There's really no point in
getting worked up about someone just not knowing or making a careless
error. It happens to everybody. Perhaps an occasional reminder in the
form of a footer or header would be appropriate:
"Thanks for not sending "me too" messages to this list."
"Thanks for remembering to unsubscribe at this address: correct
address."
"Thanks for replying individually to that individual only and not the
list." Etc.

I do enjoy the discussion on this list! Thanks!

Emily Lites
American Business English Internet School
http://www.bizenglish.com/
<lites@bizenglish.com>


> We can prevent unnecessary unsubscribe requests sent to the
> wrong place.
> We can educate people on the impact of their actions on the list
> community.
> We can prevent having to deal with "me too" or "yes, I'd like a
> copy" messages which are irrelevant to everyone but the person it
> should have been addressed to.
>
> Paul, actually, one of the problems is that so long as people are
> unaware or their own lack of knowledge about the internet and how
> lists work, these situations are going to re-occur. In the jargon, that
> lack of awareness of now knowing (the unconscious incompetence
> term applies here) is the root cause of the problem.
>
> But if you have suggestions about constructive solutions, then that
> would be great.
>
> Visit the work911.com supersite at http://www.work911.com for work related articles, or to find almost anything including lists
> .

Hello List

I too am NOT frustrated by the faux-pas of members, irrespective of whether they
are newbies or more experienced "netters". I sit and read and lurk for the most
part, but in this instance I would like to add my two bobs' worth. I'm
beginning to wonder exactly how everyone applies this medium. For me, it is
something that I scan through each day and follow the threads, mostly with
interest, but sometimes with dismay. This is not a forum to live and die by,
surely? It is a bunch of software capable of posting the thoughts of some very
learned folk, and I have learned quite a lot since I've been a member. I think
the tetchiness creeps in because of the different expectations of what people
think they're getting. As some kind of abstract community microcosm, this list
demonstrates quite well the different ways people accept, process and discard
the communication of information. It is what many of you are preaching.

And while I'm on to it, even though messages are delivered almost instantly to
hundreds of members on this list, it still seems that there are complaints of
time-wasting because of the unsolicited material that comes with it. Well
frankly I think that is the price we all have to pay. We must then depend on
our own finely-tuned sense of what is useful to convert the information into
knowledge. This means applying filters and of course trashing. I think it is
sad that the instantaneousness and spontaneity of email has also brought with it
a level of impatience and intolerance. My feeble advice is that some of you
need to take this less seriously, lighten up, and treat this list and its
members as a font of knowledge. Sure there will be times when you end up with
seemingly useless information. But isn't that always the case even when you are
researching, or reading a newspaper, or watching TV, or listening to the radio?
But ask the right questions, and I'm sure you will get the right answers. And
then there is always the power of the finger.

Thank you for your time, and all the best of the festive season to you and your
families.

Wendy Corfield




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