Postcards from the Funny Farm

I was thinking tonight about some things we men are truly ignorant about. I thought I’d make a list:

1. bedding. We men have no clue what a good thread count is and we would probably buy flannel sheets if you sent us out for some. Ladies: make sure you do not entrust this shopping task to a man.
2. matching colors. This is especially true on our kids. Wives: do not leave the picking of several clothes in an ensemble up to the husband. He can dress just fine, but will likely commit a fashion faux pas with your innocent children.
3. social etiquette. Men rarely know how to send a thank you note. In fact, if it weren’t for women, these wouldn’t get sent.
4. romantic movies. Men, if you must rent one of these, make sure you let her pick it. Trust me, I have tried this one and failed too many times! Oh, and if you’ve seen it already, don’t worry about it. Just watch it again and enjoy.
5. extended family relations. Men have no concept of how to maintain these. If men leave it to the women, it is a better situation, plain and simple.

Obviously there are more. Perhaps you can add a few to my list.

While I already have most this info posted on my teaching blog, I know I have different readers here that can offer valuable input about their work email so here goes:

Did you know people at your work might be offended at you due to email? They may think you didn’t reply because you don’t care or imagine you are mad etc. They also might be angry at you because they never got your reply (which you sent!)

I have had some of these issues lately and below is my article about using “read receipt request” in an attempt to prevent them:

The other day a fiasco almost happened because someone didn’t get my email at work. I don’t recommend this is regular personal emails because it’s cumbersome, but from now on I will be sending out a “request read” receipt on all my work emails. If people don’t mark it as read, then I will assume they didn’t get it. If they do mark it read, then I can rest easy. You might want to try this and see how you like it.

Update: After trying this today with several contacts I did learn some practical knowledge. It is probably bad etiquette to request a read receipt on every email you send. Having the record in your sent box is enough sometimes to give me peace of mind. I think it’s best to have a signature ready that reads something like:

To be sure my message was received I have requested a “read receipt” on this message. If you do not receive a notification to check, I request that you reply with a minimum of the word “received” . Thank you. -Mr. Riley

That way if you are sending an email that needs verification that the receiver read it, you can just add the “signature” footer to the message. If your email client allows it, you can also select “read receipt request.” What I learned today was that this is not necessary for every email you send, unless you don’t mind appearing overly careful. Another problem with it is that you will have an inbox full of emails that read “received” all day long.
What do you think about using “request read receipts” at work?