(I realize it's impossible to read, so just click here to appreciate. A semi-relevant comic from The Oatmeal, which you should follow if you don't already. Every comic is funny because it's so true.)
Does anyone else get uncomfortable around long emails? Do you find yourself apologizing for particularly lengthy ones? I was writing my online pen pal (not as sketchy as it sounds) earlier this evening and found myself asking for forgiveness twice over the abundance of scrolling involved in reading my response.
It all ties back to the initial purpose of electronic mail. Correspondences were meant to be short, quippy, quick reads to match the efficiency of delivery. No longer would we have to spend our time waiting for a letter, and then take the time to read three hand-written pages of script. Instead, we can shoot notes back and forth instantly - pew pew pew.
These email expectations get the better of me. Knowing that they're supposed to be brief, I assume that a long email might not be entirely read, or will not be read that closely (admittedly, there is something daunting about the sight of a whole page of text). I apologize at the end of long emails as if somehow what I said wasn't worth reading, wasn't worth their time. Which is silly. (Thinking back, I do this with long blog posts too...)
If we think of email as just an upgrade in the method of delivery, what's so wrong about long content? It's not like it takes Gmail longer to send a verbose email than a succinct one. Understandably, there are times where long emails are inappropriate, namely at work when everyone's time is supposed to be valuable. But if you have a lot to say, and want to say it digitally, why apologize?
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