Do you respond to.........

[Fox-Gal]

........ certain e-mails, Pm's and such?

Not the one where someone ask a question, those I would hope you'd respond to, but the ones where just info, is giving out. As a way of acknowledging your got their message.

Example: My sister-in-law, I e-mail her with family updates and she never responses back. So when I talk to her, I ask did you get the e-mail?
She always says yes, I got it, why?
ME: Why?? because I never know, you never answer anything back.
HER: Oh, was I suppose to? Sorry.

But then when I don't e-mail her, with info, she get upset. I don't e-mail her, because it feels like a waste of time, with someone that doesn't respond back.


I know so many people that do this and it gets to me. Is it just me and am I asking to much to get a response back, as just a way of acknowledge that they got it?

Does it happen to you and if so does it bug you, or am I just odd in my thinking?

Or, are you one of those that feel if there's not a question involved, theres no need to answer, they should know you got it?

I know it seem like a silly thread, but I'm a little T.O. right now, but not sure if I should be.........maybe I'm to sensitive on some things.

[Barbara]

I am with you- I always try to write two lines just saying I got it and thanks and how nice;)

On the other hand sometimes I want to write something more and just can't think up anything and then it may happen:o

But basically I think a confirmation can be expected.:)

[Killearn Kitties]

I think you are quite right. I think an acknowledgement can be expected. If it doesn't require a long response you can still say "Got your message - thanks very much. Hope everything's OK with you." It doesnt require a lot of effort.

Email is quite an unreliable form of communication. All kinds of things can happen which prevent a message getting through. It seems only sensible to me to acknowledge that you received it.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

I agree 100% with you!! Some people just use e-mail because then they don't have to "speak"; sending a mail is so "easy" :mad:
I always reply, it is a matter of courtesy!!

[Randi]

Originally posted by Barbara
On the other hand sometimes I want to write something more and just can't think up anything and then it may happen:o
I'm the same, and often it's the people I really want to write to, who gets a reply last. :o I must get in the habit of a least writing a short note. ;)

[finn's mom]

I'm almost 100% with you guys, except when I get sixty informative emails a day from friends and family. Then, it does become a bit laborious to email them back, even with just an acknowledgement. And, it happens a lot, where I'll get three or four of the same email from different people, I just start to feel like a broken record when I do try to acknowledge each and every one. I don't personally get offended when I don't get a response back to those types of emails, because I know my friends are probably getting as many if not more than I am. I know a lot of my friends don't read forwards of any kind. My friend, Ami, gets over 600 emails a day, she makes time to read the personal ones, and, I'm grateful for that! :) I am bugged beyond words when people don't respond to personal emails, though, especially when there are questions involved. Or when they've asked you to write or send pictures, and, then, when you do, they don't say anything back. I am fortunate in that I don't have a lot of people that do that, just a couple. But, my emails to them, now, are few and far between. Because at that point, I feel as though I'm just bothering them.

[Jods]

I've been getting PM's every so often that are like advertisements. They are annoying, telling me to vote and go to this or that contest for they're dog. The last one I had from a stranger was: Your cat is cross eyed.
I replied with I know.

Doesn't it sound odd though, like a child PM'ing me?

[Ginger's Mom]

Okay, I am going to be the odd one here. It really depends. Is this a personalized e-mail. Or is it something you are sending to a group of people? If it is a personalized e-mail, yes of course I will respond. If it is something that is going out to a group of people I will not. Two examples, if I talk to a friend on the phone and she tells me about an upcoming trip/surgery/event, and then sends out an e-mail to all of her friends informing them of the same thing, I feel no need to respond the e-mail. We spoke on the phone for two hours, I have nothing else to say. If the e-mail is from someone whom I worked on a project with two years ago and they send out an e-mail to everyone in their mailbox about their sister-in-laws husband cheating on her so she is moving in with them, I probably wouldn't respond to that e-mail. It was probably not really intended for me. Anything in between these two extremes, I would probably respond to, but to be honest it is on a case by case basis.

[finn's mom]

Originally posted by Ginger's Mom
Okay, I am going to be the odd one here.

You're not totally odd, check out what I said. I think you and I have about the same opinion. :)

[Logan]

Libby, when I send an email that contains information, reports something, or a picture, I, like you, expect a response, even if it is a quick "Ha Ha" or "how cute" or something. I don't respond to those 100% of the time and I ought to do a better job. What I don't feel compelled to respond to is the multiple forwards that people send to huge groups of email recipients that are jokes or political messages. I may look, I may not. I'm more often than not going to delete them without opening them if it isn't a close friend or family member sending them.

But I'm with you. It is common courtesy to at least acknowledge something, especially from your sister! My sister does the same thing and I have no way of knowing whether she got it or not.

Logan

[Kfamr]

I'm really horrible with replying to things. PM's especially. It's not that I don't want to but for me, it's very time consuming. I have 101 PM's just in my inbox starting from 6-12-2005 (3 days ago) until today. I hate the fact that there's a 60 second waiting period between sending PM's it takes soooo long that way to reply to everyone and a lot of the time I don't do so until I actually have the time to spend a hour replying.


It seems a lot of the times I don't recieve some PM's. I'll get PM's from people saying they sent me a PM DAYS ago and I never replied to them, but I never got one? :confused:

[furrykidsmother]

I think it is common courtesy to respond to an e-mail especially one where someone has taken the time to give an update or send important information. Jokes sent via e-mail you can't always respond to every one of them, but many times I will acknowledge those too.

[anna_66]

Originally posted by Kfamr
I have 101 PM's just in my inbox starting from 6-12-2005 (3 days ago) until today.
Wow Kay! You are one popular girl:D I might get that many in a year!

I do always try to respond with at least a few words to let them know I got it.

[Fox-Gal]

Originally posted by Logan
But I'm with you. It is common courtesy to at least acknowledge something, especially from your sister! My sister does the same thing and I have no way of knowing whether she got it or not.

Logan

That's what I try to tell her, I have no way of knowing you got it, in less you respond back. She seem to think I should know, she got it. So now I don't e-mail her with the family up-dates any more, and she annoyed at me, now. :rolleyes: If she can't take the time back to respond when I tell her her brother almost died on me the other night, then why would I e-mail her to tell her, about a race, he won.


It's nice to know most of you do respond back, I guess I'm just "Lucky" :rolleyes: enough to have those few friends that don't. Sister -in-law is not the only one, there are a few. A friend asked me to e-mail her pictures of last summer's hurricane we went through together. I did.......no response back. So I e-mail again, "did you get the pictures?" I get an e-mail back, "Yeah, I got them Why?" :rolleyes:

I do agree about the jokes and other kinds of e-mail, I don't answer those back also. But any other kind, I believe you should answer something, if nothing else, just a thanks, got your e-mail. Same thing with Pm's, a short response back would be nice.

[chocolatepuppy]

I don't e-mail a lot of people. I e-mail my SIL who is long distance by phone(we work for sister companies) She usually gives a response as I do her. But, I have a friend I used to work with, who is also long distance by phone, who I send e-mail to (we usually talk about our animals) and I get no reply. Weeks later she sends me a new e-mail with no reference to the one I sent :rolleyes: Did she ever get the one I sent her or did her hubby or kids delete it :confused: So I figure, why bother?

[NoahsMommy]

I think it depends on the content. If its just a FW emial that's going to a lot, I don't respond unless I really liked it.

But, if its news...I'll always respond.

[luvofallhorses]

I do respond to PM's unless there is nothing I have to say :p

[catnapper]

OMG... same thing just happend to me! A month or so ago, my cat rescue got an urgent SOS from a local dog rescue. Apparently a Greyhound racetrack a few hours from here was closing down and they had to find either permanent or foster homes for 70+ Greyhounds immediately or they'd die. Well, my brother and his wife adopted two rescued Greyhounds and sing hte praises of Grayhound rescue so I sent him the email and said "Perhaps you might like help"... and I said some other stuff making friendly conversation.

Time went by and he never responded to the email so I figured he wasn't interested. I was talking to mom last week and she told me how excited he is to be hooking up with a Greyhound rescue that needed to find immediate homes for 70+ dogs... hmmm... sounds familiar, doesn't it? I was sooo insulted that he was really excited and into something because *I* had sent along the info and yet he never acknowledged or thanked me for the info.

All he had to do was hit "reply" and say "Cool! I was looking to get involved somehow!" or "thanks, I think I might be interested!" he didn't have to tell me that it sounded great and that this would become his next mission in life. I also hardly ever email him - maybe three times a year. So you know what I send him has to be something special.

[slick]

I have my PM's blocked for personal reasons...besides, I can say more in an email.

I always try to respond to all emails with the exception of jokes. I have two neighbours that email me at least 10 times a day with "aging" jokes and such and I only respond every once in a while saying "Thanks for the jokes."

If the email is a personal one from a Pet Talker or other good friends, I always respond even though it may take me a couple of days...:o

I also accept email at my work address.....it's fun and makes me smile in the middle of a very busy workday.

[sandragonfly]

gosh, I completely understand you!! glad to see this because I always felt so miserable for "expecting too much" because my own family kept getting upset at me for not updating them anymore..especially when I was in the hospitals.. and dare to think I'm like my father...who turned his back on everyone for no reason and never speaks for YEARS. :mad: :( :(

I was like.. duh..you never corresponded so I didn't think it matters anymore. because one, I don't know if you got it or not, two, you don't respond back so I assumed you're bothered. so I stop. communication is just a basic requirement of any relationship! ("Your Health" book -from my old class- says so too!)

then they complain their excuses.. busy..kids..work..school.. yak yaks. oh please.. I see and think I'm even busier than they are. I mean, do you care? you would spare just a minute or two to correspond! I never and will never find it understood why people always had hard time with that. *groans* - do you think your sister cares? or...? I have no idea! because I don't want to find or say negatives in/about them... they just kept making me wondering..! shucks. what do you think now?

hugs to remove your frustration..

[sandragonfly]

and to add..

the truth is I haven't really stopped updating my some relatives because I've been afraid they really thought I'm like my father.. :( :( too much stresses because I don't really want to if they couldn't just share their life with me too..

you feel me, fox-gal?

[Fox-Gal]

Originally posted by Gina's Ark Inc.
you feel me, fox-gal?[/color]

Oh yeah, I feel ya!

Some how in all this I have turned out to be the bad one, sense I don't e-mail them any more. Their mad at me because they say, I'm being rude.................Hello???? I tried, your the one that doesn't answer back, so who's rude here??

People only see their side of things and never do they see, it both ways. At least in my case.

I've just quit on all accounts, don't e-mail, don't call, soon maybe they will figure out things work both ways. They can e-mail, call now, it's their turn. Why do I have to be the one to keep in touch, pay the long distance bills etc etc.?

Ok I done venting, now................feel much better. :D

[sandragonfly]

very right.. relationship works both way! yet..I never give up on praying someone will finally come to common sense and see that they gotta do their part too! but unforunately...the life we have now...ugh.


posted by fox-gal
Ok I done venting, now................feel much better. :D
so am I too, thanks to you. :D