The Unwritten Rules of Gadget Communication

March 9, 2008 at 12:41 am | Posted in Tech Gal, Thoughts | 9 Comments
Tags: Cell Phones, Communication, Email, Texting

You know what irritates me? When people say they will get with you about something  specific on a specific day and then they don’t – for weeks – and it leaves you wondering. I have had this conversation with friends many times about the unwritten rules of communication and technology and it always interests me to see what other people considers dos and donts when it comes to their gadgets. I have a certain set of rules that I tend to abide by and that I expect of others when trying to communicate with me.

Cell Phone – If you call me and you want me to call you back, don’t assume that I will acknowledge the missed call signal as being a sign that I must return the phone call. No message, no call back. It is that simple. The fact is that if my phone is off it will not give me a missed call signal. I am not telepathic therefore I did not know you attempted to reach me. That being said you are not allowed to cop attitude with me for not returning a call that I did not know was made in the first place. Also, don’t call me multiple times in a row without leaving a message. That only leads me to assume that an emergency is happening and you don’t want to leave bad news on my voicemail. When I call you and you don’t answer I will assume the worst and have a panic attack until I speak to you and am convinced that you are alive and not in a situation which will place you as the lead story on the nightly news. On that note, if you call me and get the call waiting beep because I am on the other line, don’t call back over and over and over and continue to break up my conversation on the primary line if you are not going to leave a message. Same rules apply as for not leaving a message after multiple calls. I will assume something is very wrong. So when I click over to make sure you are not being dragged against your will into a van and all you can say is, “Were you on the other line?” I will not be pleased.

Email – If you tell me that you are going to email me with pertinent information, please do it and don’t wait until I have to email you to tell you that I need said information. This goes for co-workers, professors, businesses, and pretty much anyone who comes into contact with me. Also, I am going to have to ask you to stop CCing me on all unimportant information. This also goes with the “Reply to All” button, seriously stop using it so liberally people. If you are not speaking directly to me, I don’t care what your conversation is with someone else. I am not that nosey and I don’t care that much about your life. Stop cramming up my in-box, it only leads me to become more irritated with you for not taking my time into consideration.

Texting- If I text you with a specific question about something imperative, such as a meeting time, don’t wait until ten minutes before I need the information to get back with me. I can tell when you intercept the text and if you keep me waiting and I know you are aware that I am waiting on you it will put you on my bad side.

I wonder if everyone else has their own set of rules?