In the spirit of the "Why don't people reply to emails?" thread...

How many times should you reply during an email exchange? Since email is an asynchronous form of communication, I often find myself undecided when deciding whether to reply with a quick "Thank you" or "No problem, happy to help."

For example, I sent my Statistics TA an email telling her I wouldn't be at lab yesterday, and she wrote me back saying "Hey Mike, there's no lab tomorrow, so you're fine. Good luck on the exam."

I decided not to reply with a "Thank you" since it was such a brief conversation, but was I wrong? That happens a lot...is it worth it to reply to emails with a quick "Thanks," or "Anytime?"

Ah, the dilemmas of the information age...

 

[pulse8]

I'll sometimes write back, but most of the time I won't in a situation like that.

I don't think it matters to the person either way.

 

[isaacmacdonald]

Don't reply unless it specifically fishes for thanks or requires an answer. Otherwise it's just annoying.

 

[CraigRT]

I usually write back, but I try to write more than just a few words... else I won't respond at all

 

[MacGaven]

I hate the one word responses.

"Thanx"
"Thnxors"
"Cool"
"Yeah"

 

[yoda291]

you could always reply with "I love you"...that ought to get her to smile. If you put it in the subject line, it'd prolly make a nerd smile too.

 

[NuclearFusi0n]

Originally posted by: MacGaven
I hate the one word responses.

"Thanx"
"Thnxors"
"Cool"
"Yeah"

Yeah

 

[StageLeft]

I generally err on the side of too much. I absolutely abhor people who do not respond to emails (often to their own loss - like a car dealership for instance), so if I'm unsure as to whether to reply or not I will do so. I also appreciate quick short email responses as well just to know that somebody received it and that we're on the same page.

 

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I generally err on the side of too much. I absolutely abhor people who do not respond to emails (often to their own loss - like a car dealership for instance), so if I'm unsure as to whether to reply or not I will do so. I also appreciate quick short email responses as well just to know that somebody received it and that we're on the same page.

That's where I'm coming from - it's the little things, like a confirmation that you got the info and you understand the situation that makes me want to reply.

However, since it was the last day of class and I'll never see this TA again, I figured that it wasn't worth it.

 

[xirtam]

I'm not annoyed unless somebody's trying to make money off of my email box.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

What's even worse is when I send out notices via emails in regards to things I plan on doing with our server/network and ppl
tend not to read the long emails where I have to explain new features and stuff.

weeks later i get a ... "say ... how do u do this?" "how come it doesnt work like before. did you make any changes?"

 

[MrDingleDangle]

i usually will, just so they know i got the email

 

[jonnyjack]

i hate when i specifically tell people to reply and they don't...i just sent out an email a week ago to 35 people regarding an outing and only 15 have replied so far. i specifically said to reply with a yes or no. of the remaining 20, i know at least 8 of them check their email everyday.

 

[Hammer]

Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle
i usually will, just so they know i got the email

exactly. thats the right answer.

 

[PigPig]

Originally posted by: Hammer

Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle
i usually will, just so they know i got the email

exactly. thats the right answer.

Totally agree. I would reply them too!!!!
But i would not reply w/ just one or two words...... probably at least 2-3 sentences.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

Originally posted by: PigPig

Originally posted by: Hammer

Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle
i usually will, just so they know i got the email

exactly. thats the right answer.

Totally agree. I would reply them too!!!!
But i would not reply w/ just one or two words...... probably at least 2-3 sentences.

this is why i started the other thread- here that the title is about http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=38&threadid=1027927