Email

Oh dear friends from graduate school, please think of this as an observation about to turn into a case study!

(all references to my institution and the people working there have been changed to protect their anonymity and to make the story just a bit more amusing).

The first semester was over, classes were out, grades were (theoretically) submitted. I sat at my desk pulling data and goofing off at the same time (curse and blessing to the multitask generation!). An email appears in my inbox "please come support the Unicorns Foosball team as the men's and women's teams have a double header January 5th!" The email continues on to say the night will be "church night" and those with a "church" bulletin will receive a discount ($2) on their admission.

Oh the horrors about to be unleashed onto the unsuspecting mass of faculty and staff (and probably the squirrels and lab rats!). What next happened can only compare to the unimaginable horrors of Geurnica or the bloody gross-ness of the Texas Chainsaw Massacres...

another email arrives in my mailbox, mere hours later...

"Dear Ms. Potsdam,
...I am offended by the use of 'church night' by a public institution of the state and feel it is restricting religious freedom as guaranteed by the bill of rights... drone on drone on...

CC: state ACLU; entire faculty and staff at the institution"

Oh dear, oh dear, oh me! church night! religion- such a dirty, dirty word! oh the laments, the injuries, and the salt in an open wound!

WAIT! don't staff and faculty get into all games (including our conference ranked Foosball team) FREE?! where is the perceived insult coming from? wait, whats this... more emails?! Aren't the games already dirt cheap compared to those of our parent institution (ex. $5 for an adult regularly).

Yes, many, many people reply to the email, some in agreement of Mr. Angry Reply All, some with Ms. Potsdam.

What, dear friends, did I do? I ignored the emails... occasionally gripping about the fact that the same people I've been emailing all semester long trying to enlist their assistance in my mission critical work are replying with lengthy and eloquent emails arguing the state's promotion of athletics amount the local religious community. Don't they have something better to do with their time? Why aren't they directly calling the Director of Athletics or the head of the institution?

Friends, bottom line, its the end of the semester and here's some grown adults with massive amounts of education (probably too much for their own good) getting into a squabble about a promotion... to make enough money to keep one of the institutions programs afloat through the current budget crisis.


Lesson:

• Don't hit reply all. ever.
• Don't start a debate on a listserv... 99% of the members don't care either way.
• Take note of those offended by various subjects (I'm sure this isn't the last time), and use their hot points as a way to get them to open a email they would otherwise ignore.
• Smile... we live in a great country and this is a well opinionated argument, but otherwise very silly.

Happy holidays :)