# Things that are inappropriate to communicate by text or email
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [January 7, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785 "2011-01-07T20:21:11Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/1 "2011-01-07T20:21:11Z")
Inspired by [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=592085) thread, what sorts of things do you think are wholly inappropriate/just plain wrong to communicate by text or email?
I’d say that telling someone an immediate family member has died by text or email has gotta be way up there.
What else?
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### Author:  [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/2 "2011-01-07T20:23:44Z")
sry i gave u the herp
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/3 "2011-01-07T20:25:08Z")
“You’re fired.”
“I want a divorce.”
“I’m pregnant.”
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### Author:  [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/4 "2011-01-07T20:29:38Z")
“Will you marry me?”
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### Author:  [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/5 "2011-01-07T20:34:22Z")
“Some1 haz a laser pointer aimed at your forehead. Duck!”
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### Author:  [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/6 "2011-01-07T20:35:47Z")
> [@Oakminster](#):
>
> “Will you marry me?”
My wife proposed over Google Chat.
We printed the chat log in our wedding program.
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### Author:  [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/7 "2011-01-07T20:42:14Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#):
>
> My wife proposed over Google Chat.
>
> We printed the chat log in our wedding program.
Said wife would like to clarify that we were actually sitting next to each other at the time.
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### Author:  [@Heckity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heckity)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/8 "2011-01-07T20:46:39Z")
Sadly, I had to notify my son by email that his father had passed away suddenly and he needed to come home. He was travelling with his phone off, and there was no way to reach him - I felt fairly certain he’d check his email at some point - I was right. He doesn’t turn off his phone now when out of the country.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/9 "2011-01-07T20:48:48Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> “I want a divorce.”
My mom was on the receiving end of this one, from my ex-stepdad. It went to her work account.
Classy.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/10 "2011-01-07T21:04:46Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> My mom was on the receiving end of this one, from my ex-stepdad. It went to her work account.
Nice!
“i luv u.” Not inappropriate unless it’s the first time it’s expressed.
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### Author:  [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/11 "2011-01-07T21:13:18Z")
Oh man, the stories I could tell … ok, just one.
Back when AIM was huge, I was browsing through my buddies’ profiles before going out on a Friday night. I looked at my brother’s profile, and it said RIP Mom. I IMed him asking why it said that. He said she had just died. Apparently updating his profile was a higher priority than telling his sister.
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### Author:  [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/12 "2011-01-07T21:13:59Z")
> [@Heckity](#):
>
> Sadly, I had to notify my son by email that his father had passed away suddenly and he needed to come home. He was travelling with his phone off, and there was no way to reach him - I felt fairly certain he’d check his email at some point - I was right. He doesn’t turn off his phone now when out of the country.
I think I would have asked him to call me ASAP as you had something urgent that you had to talk to him about. I couldn’t have put the news of the death in the e-mail. Just couldn’t.
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### Author:  [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/13 "2011-01-07T21:15:13Z")
“Your parents are dead.”
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### Author:  [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/14 "2011-01-07T21:17:48Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> “You’re fired.”
In a text, it would be “ur fired”.
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### Author:  [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/15 "2011-01-07T21:51:35Z")
“You have cancer.”
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### Author:  [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/16 "2011-01-07T21:53:08Z")
“I’ve been cheating on you.”
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### Author:  [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/17 "2011-01-07T21:54:55Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#):
>
> In a text, it would be “ur fired”.
ur fired lol.
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### Author:  [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/18 "2011-01-07T21:58:38Z")
test bck, i hz aids ☹
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### Author:  [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/19 "2011-01-07T21:59:47Z")
> [@iftheresaway](#):
>
> sry i gave u the herp
What a shame too, mass e-mail could make this task so much easier and faster.
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### Author:  [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-inappropriate-to-communicate-by-text-or-email/566785/20 "2011-01-07T22:00:32Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> “I want a divorce.”
My sister’s best friend did this to her husband while sitting in the room next to him.
I think that bad news needs to come as in person as possible but good news can come impersonally.
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