# I wanna get a hold of someone who doesn't have email enabled.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wanna-get-a-hold-of-someone-who-doesnt-have-email-enabled/132203
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [October 14, 2002, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wanna-get-a-hold-of-someone-who-doesnt-have-email-enabled/132203 "2002-10-14T07:03:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2002, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wanna-get-a-hold-of-someone-who-doesnt-have-email-enabled/132203/1 "2002-10-14T07:03:01Z")
I _think_ I have read an email to mods will help me, but I also think I have read an email to mods will not help me. And I’m unable to find guidelines via a search (mostly, I’m sure, because I’m an idiot).
If I (for example) wish to pick Collunsbury’s brain over a minor and old economic point, and his email isn’t enabled, how do I go about trying to get in touch with him, short of virtually jumping up and down and waving my arms in a vain GD hijack?
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2002, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wanna-get-a-hold-of-someone-who-doesnt-have-email-enabled/132203/2 "2002-10-14T10:00:08Z")
I needed to contact someone recently and I was able to do so through an admin; I emailed **Gaudere** , who emailed the member, asking if they would be prepared to divulge their email address to me, this way nobody has their email address divulged without their consent.
In my particular case, I considered it to be of high importance (but then, I would, wouldn’t I?); I’m not sure how many such requests the admins get, but I suspect it could be a problem if they had to deal with this all the time.
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### Author:  [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2002, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wanna-get-a-hold-of-someone-who-doesnt-have-email-enabled/132203/3 "2002-10-14T12:00:26Z")
I think that’s what I heard, too - you just email an admin or moderator. Too bad vBulletin isn’t set up so that you can email someone directly from the board without actually seeing their address (that is, instead of opening up a new email message in your own email client).
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### Author:  [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2002, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wanna-get-a-hold-of-someone-who-doesnt-have-email-enabled/132203/4 "2002-10-14T12:43:47Z")
Another way to do this is to compose your email and have one of the Admins (I use **Tubadiva** ) to _forward_ the email to the recipient. That way the recipient can maintain the confidentiality of their email address.
Obviously, as a matter of just being polite, first ask the Admin if they’re willing to forward your email. And this would only be done this way for the initial email contact. We certainly couldn’t expect anyone to be the middle person in an ongoing email exchange.
If the recipient wants to correspond with you, then they’ll answer your email.
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### Author:  [@jacksen9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksen9)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2002, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wanna-get-a-hold-of-someone-who-doesnt-have-email-enabled/132203/5 "2002-10-14T14:15:10Z")
> [@](#):
>
> If I (for example) wish to pick Collunsbury’s brain over a minor and old economic point, and his email isn’t enabled, how do I go about trying to get in touch with him, short of virtually jumping up and down and waving my arms in a vain GD hijack?
Or… you could have just asked me. Collunsbury and I communicate frequently. He has asked me to edit and revise many of his posts. 😉
😃
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### Author:  [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2002, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wanna-get-a-hold-of-someone-who-doesnt-have-email-enabled/132203/6 "2002-10-14T14:23:58Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Too bad vBulletin isn’t set up so that you can email someone directly from the board without actually seeing their address .
**dantheman** , vBulletin _does_ have that capability. It’s called Private Messaging. It’s just been disabled in the SDMB. Not sure why, but I assume it has to do with the hamsters.
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### Author:  [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2002, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wanna-get-a-hold-of-someone-who-doesnt-have-email-enabled/132203/7 "2002-10-14T14:49:24Z")
Oh, I see. Didn’t know that’s what its purpose was. Thanks.
(Yahoo groups does this, and I’ve always loved it - except it hides only the end of the email address. So if I were [dantheman@hotmail.com](mailto:dantheman@hotmail.com), what the sender would see would be dantheman@hotm… or something like that. Kinda easy to figger it out, in that case.)
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### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2002, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wanna-get-a-hold-of-someone-who-doesnt-have-email-enabled/132203/8 "2002-10-14T18:45:38Z")
Try e-mailing a staff member and explain why it’s important/vital that you contact the other member via e-mail. If the reasons sound convincing then the staff member will forward it.
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### Author:  [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)
#### Post date: [October 14, 2002, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wanna-get-a-hold-of-someone-who-doesnt-have-email-enabled/132203/9 "2002-10-14T23:19:25Z")
Ah, well…it’s neither important nor vital. He never came back to a thread, that’s all. No biggie.