# Did we break some email "netiquette" there? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 31, 2014, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694 "2014-05-31T11:00:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/1 "2014-05-31T11:00:59Z")
…or was that guy an idiot? Here’s the story. I was assigned in a group project with some of my coworkers. One day we kept working till late-ish, around 11pm or midnight. When we finished for the day, we had some questions for the project manager so we sent him an e-mail. Next day he starts chewing our asses for sending him an email that late in the night! Note that this happened back in the late 90s. Smartphones were scifi back then. You had to use a real computer to read emails and none of that fancy broadband of course, just dial up. Also we didn’t require answers immediately and we made that clear on the email. Actually I doubt this guy even had an internet connection at his home. He most likely read the email next morning at work, saw the timestamp and decided to scream on us. So what’s your opinion? Did we break some rule or was the guy an idiot? ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/2 "2014-05-31T11:06:54Z")
I think that’s a personal ‘thing’ (problem) he had. He might have had access to his email at home, and felt obliged to consider anything to do with work immediately. If he hadn’t mentioned this to you before, and it sounds like he didn’t, then he’s making a big fuss over something minor. What a wuss. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/3 "2014-05-31T11:15:13Z")
It’s a bit daft of the guy. It’s also a bit daft to be wondering about something that happened in the late '90. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/4 "2014-05-31T11:17:56Z")
Sending someone an email at 11pm is just like caling someone at 11pm, and who the heck does that unless it’s an emergency or someone died. Sure, in our enlightened modern era, we realize that they’re actually nothing alike, but for someone new to email, applying phone etiquette could seem reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/5 "2014-05-31T11:36:19Z")
Some managers are more like petty tyrants than supervisors. Sounds like you ran into one. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/6 "2014-05-31T14:33:23Z")
I’m curious what made you ask about this, some 15 years later. Have an office reunion and were reminiscing? Anyway, no, I don’t think it was at all wrong. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/7 "2014-05-31T15:20:01Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I’m curious what made you ask about this, some 15 years later. I’m guessing he just hasn’t slept well since. Or he’s on step 9 of AA. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/8 "2014-05-31T15:23:38Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’m guessing he just hasn’t slept well since. Or he’s on step 9 of AA. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/9 "2014-05-31T17:06:45Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Sending someone an email at 11pm is just like caling someone at 11pm, and who the heck does that unless it’s an emergency or someone died. > > Sure, in our enlightened modern era, we realize that they’re actually nothing alike, but for someone new to email, applying phone etiquette could seem reasonable. That sounds so absurd to me that I thought you were joking or being sarcastic at first. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/10 "2014-05-31T17:35:29Z")
No rule break that I ever heard of. I worked with companies that used e-mail extensively from the mid-90’s on and we used it all the time at all hours or on weekends. It was regarded as the equivalent of jotting down a memo and leaving it on someone’s desk to deal with when they returned to work. I never had the experience of people thinking it was something that had to be dealt with immediately. An emergency would be expected to be conveyed by a phone call. If he thought it was something that had to be dealt with right away that was his problem and pretty unusual. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/11 "2014-05-31T17:49:03Z")
My smartphone is not set to auto retrieve email. Emergencies mean a phone call, emails can always wait. I think the guy’s a ninny. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/12 "2014-05-31T18:14:14Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Sending someone an email at 11pm is just like caling someone at 11pm, and who the heck does that unless it’s an emergency or someone died. I do it all the time. I never expect instant replies to e-mails which is why I choose that method of communication when a call is inappropriate. Also, note that the author is referring to a time before the existence of smartphones. If you sleep with your smartphone next to you, and you don’t disable alerts for e-mails, then tough shit if you get e-mails that disturb you. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/13 "2014-05-31T18:22:14Z")
My guess is that it made him feel guilty and/or embarrassed that you guys were burning the midnight oil while he was asleep. But he couldn’t just come out and say this, so he made up a reason. But attitudes towards emails have dramatically since the 90s. And our netiquette is also getting better, I think. I used to get those slurgy “send this to inspirational message embedded with cheesy animated GIFs to ten people if you love Jesus as much as I do!!” every day. Now it seems like people uniformly recognize those things are more appropriate for FB, not people’s work emails and the like. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/14 "2014-05-31T18:35:25Z")
Sending e-mails late at night – especially from superiors to subordinates – can create unspoken expectations that they should be checking and responding to messages at all hours. I wouldn’t do it without a very good reason. ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/15 "2014-05-31T18:39:43Z")
I’m on the east coat of the US, doing occasional contract work for a firm based in the UK. Maybe it’s just because of the five hour time zone difference, but they regularly send me emails at 9AM their time (dead of night mine), and I regularly send them emails in the evening my time (dead of night their time). It’s just the way life goes. Nobody expects a reply until business hours have long since started on the other side of the pond. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/16 "2014-05-31T18:58:19Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Sending e-mails late at night – especially from superiors to subordinates – can create unspoken expectations that they should be checking and responding to messages at all hours. I wouldn’t do it without a very good reason. Jesus Fucking Christ. Can’t people just talk civilly to each other and set expectations? _Hey, I’m sending you this e-mail now only so I don’t forget. I don’t expect an instant response. Tomorrow is fine._ ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/17 "2014-05-31T19:08:56Z")
Your manager was a total idiot, who probably didn’t realize how e-mails work. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/18 "2014-05-31T19:10:52Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Sending e-mails late at night – especially from superiors to subordinates – can create unspoken expectations that they should be checking and responding to messages at all hours. I wouldn’t do it without a very good reason. This is why there is such a thing called “work email address”. My boss recognizes that I check my work email only when I’m at at work. So if there’s something really critical, he needs to email me at my non-work email address. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/19 "2014-05-31T19:15:38Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > This is why there is such a thing called “work email address”. My boss recognizes that I check my work email only when I’m at at work. So if there’s something really critical, he needs to email me at my non-work email address. Indeed. THere is no reason to use your work e-mail as your personal e-mail. in fact, there are a bazillion reasons NOT to. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694/20 "2014-05-31T19:16:23Z")
might he actually have had a dial up connection with his butler monitoring his email for him? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-break-some-email-netiquette-there/689694.md?page=2)