the importance of emphasis
Nov. 14th, 2008 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adrian_turtleI probably don't need to tell you this. Sure, you sometimes organize meetings, and people get mixed up about when and where, such that you get messages saying something like, "The pamphlet said you meet at 11 on the second Friday of every month in the Fox Library, but when I looked for you this morning, nobody was there. The whole library was deserted. Are the meetings at a different time these days?"
An answer like, "We meet the second Friday of every month in the Robbins Library, at 11:00," is quite reasonable. Unfortunately, putting that "Friday" in boldface adds a certain subtext (ie, I think you're an idiot who can't read a calender, doesn't know today is Friday, and did not send that email less than an hour ago.) Going on to say, "We have met this same day and time every month for 8 years, only missing one for a snow storm," seems to rub it in. Pointlessly, as the response concludes "Each September, we meet in the Fox Library."
Nothing is overtly insulting, and I don't think anything is wrong...but I don't particularly feel like going back to give them a try on the second Friday of next month. As ever, I may be overreacting. *shrug* I have a month to get over it.
An answer like, "We meet the second Friday of every month in the Robbins Library, at 11:00," is quite reasonable. Unfortunately, putting that "Friday" in boldface adds a certain subtext (ie, I think you're an idiot who can't read a calender, doesn't know today is Friday, and did not send that email less than an hour ago.) Going on to say, "We have met this same day and time every month for 8 years, only missing one for a snow storm," seems to rub it in. Pointlessly, as the response concludes "Each September, we meet in the Fox Library."
Nothing is overtly insulting, and I don't think anything is wrong...but I don't particularly feel like going back to give them a try on the second Friday of next month. As ever, I may be overreacting. *shrug* I have a month to get over it.
