Comments on: Email from Students http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:29:04 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: sutton http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145688 sutton Fri, 24 Feb 2006 17:26:35 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145688 "begs the question" does not mean "inspires me to ask." People, please. “begs the question” does not mean “inspires me to ask.”

People, please.

]]> By: Harald Korneliussen http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145647 Harald Korneliussen Fri, 24 Feb 2006 11:40:28 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145647 "[...] she had even received e-mail requests from students who missed class and wanted copies of her teaching notes." Well, since most of my teachers put up those anyway without being asked, to me this doesn't seem like a very outrageous request? I suppose my old nickname (dating from the time all acceptable variants of my name were taken at yahoo mail) of "vintermann" (winter man) isn't too bad, but I use my student adress at resumes... It would be worse if I had to use the domain name of my friend who hosts my weblog. “[...] she had even received e-mail requests from students who missed class and wanted copies of her teaching notes.”

Well, since most of my teachers put up those anyway without being asked, to me this doesn’t seem like a very outrageous request?

I suppose my old nickname (dating from the time all acceptable variants of my name were taken at yahoo mail) of “vintermann” (winter man) isn’t too bad, but I use my student adress at resumes… It would be worse if I had to use the domain name of my friend who hosts my weblog.

]]> By: Weed_smoker420 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145539 Weed_smoker420 Thu, 23 Feb 2006 17:38:12 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145539 I wonder how many job prospects <a href="http://mms.beer.com/" rel="nofollow">these e-mail addresses</a> have shattered? I wonder how many job prospects these e-mail addresses have shattered?

]]> By: your_mashed_potatoes_of_lust http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145529 your_mashed_potatoes_of_lust Thu, 23 Feb 2006 16:35:19 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145529 40. -- Hey, it's a science class. They should be able to take it. :-) 40.—Hey, it’s a science class. They should be able to take it. :-)

]]> By: Lorna http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145519 Lorna Thu, 23 Feb 2006 12:00:59 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145519 I have to say, switching to university email is more trouble than it's worth. I'd been using the same email address for a good couple of years before I started university, and my first account had a user interface that made sense and wasn't broken more often than it was working. I didn't get a new phone for university to contact me on, and I'm not changing my primary email address, either. As long as the email address isn't insulting or inappropriately sexual, I don't have a great deal of respect or sympathy for people who make a big deal about it. I have to say, switching to university email is more trouble than it’s worth. I’d been using the same email address for a good couple of years before I started university, and my first account had a user interface that made sense and wasn’t broken more often than it was working. I didn’t get a new phone for university to contact me on, and I’m not changing my primary email address, either. As long as the email address isn’t insulting or inappropriately sexual, I don’t have a great deal of respect or sympathy for people who make a big deal about it.

]]> By: jay http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145501 jay Thu, 23 Feb 2006 03:38:49 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145501 My personal favorite as a TA was receiving an unsigned email asking about a class assignment from a sender "Thomas Moore" (using some random Hotmail address), when I had no such student in any of my discussion sections. Out of a mixture of curiosity and irritation, I responded to his email asking if he was in the class. It turned out, of course, that it really was a student in the class - he just couldn't remember his password for his university email account. He seemed to be genuinely surprised that I would prefer him emailing me from his university account - or at least that his real name showed in the From line - or barring that, that at least he sign his real name so I had some idea that it was an actual student of mine who was sending me email. My personal favorite as a TA was receiving an unsigned email asking about a class assignment from a sender “Thomas Moore” (using some random Hotmail address), when I had no such student in any of my discussion sections. Out of a mixture of curiosity and irritation, I responded to his email asking if he was in the class. It turned out, of course, that it really was a student in the class – he just couldn’t remember his password for his university email account. He seemed to be genuinely surprised that I would prefer him emailing me from his university account – or at least that his real name showed in the From line – or barring that, that at least he sign his real name so I had some idea that it was an actual student of mine who was sending me email.

]]> By: Robin Green http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145466 Robin Green Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:14:03 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145466 My email address is greenrd@greenrd.org, so it just look incredibly arrogant and vain, which isn't the effect I was going for at all (I was going for easy to memorise, and permanent). But I don't want to go through the hassle of changing it now. My email address is greenrd@greenrd.org, so it just look incredibly arrogant and vain, which isn’t the effect I was going for at all (I was going for easy to memorise, and permanent). But I don’t want to go through the hassle of changing it now.

]]> By: seth http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145460 seth Wed, 22 Feb 2006 21:37:11 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145460 I used to work as a union organizer. We would make judgements about the people we were organizing based on their emails and other personal information they gave to us. So yes, people from all walks of life should consider what their email address says about them. I used to work as a union organizer. We would make judgements about the people we were organizing based on their emails and other personal information they gave to us. So yes, people from all walks of life should consider what their email address says about them.

]]> By: Joe Greene http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145452 Joe Greene Wed, 22 Feb 2006 18:56:59 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145452 I just use my Cell Phone email address: thegeek at my cellphone_provider.com Being a UNIX Admin, I've found it gets me plenty of interviews by being non-offensive but showing a sense of humor at the same time. Plus since I get notified any time an email comes in by phone. I can reply quickly. Coincidently my regular personal email is a mixture of 2 languages, so it just looks odd, never offensive. I just use my Cell Phone email address: thegeek at my cellphone_provider.com
Being a UNIX Admin, I’ve found it gets me plenty of interviews by being non-offensive but showing a sense of humor at the same time. Plus since I get notified any time an email comes in by phone. I can reply quickly. Coincidently my regular personal email is a mixture of 2 languages, so it just looks odd, never offensive.

]]> By: SullyWatch http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145437 SullyWatch Wed, 22 Feb 2006 17:25:34 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145437 <i>So, it just takes some time for them to understand the implications of what they are doing. I wouldn’t call them stupid or naive—just unaware of the implications of language, whether it be in a formal essay or in something seemingly innocuous as an email address.</i> Somewhat paradoxically for a generation that's pretty much grown up with it, students today don't seem to get just how wide open the Internet is. You regularly hear them complaining that their parents read their myspaces ... well, duh, it's wide open unless you decide to password protect it! One of us had his Wikipedia user page vandalized on a regular basis for a while by some of his students at a local high school. They constantly denied it, even though it was extremely easy to look at the history page and see that the edits in question originated from the high school's proxy server during a class they all shared. So, it just takes some time for them to understand the implications of what they are doing. I wouldn’t call them stupid or naive—just unaware of the implications of language, whether it be in a formal essay or in something seemingly innocuous as an email address.

Somewhat paradoxically for a generation that’s pretty much grown up with it, students today don’t seem to get just how wide open the Internet is. You regularly hear them complaining that their parents read their myspaces … well, duh, it’s wide open unless you decide to password protect it!

One of us had his Wikipedia user page vandalized on a regular basis for a while by some of his students at a local high school. They constantly denied it, even though it was extremely easy to look at the history page and see that the edits in question originated from the high school’s proxy server during a class they all shared.

]]> By: ML http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145431 ML Wed, 22 Feb 2006 17:01:46 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145431 One institution at which I teach has only just started offering incoming students the opportunity to get email addresses easily--before, only upperclasspeople who needed accounts on specific computer systems received them. In consequence, all of my students use their own email addresses from yahoo, aol, hotmail, etc. These are quite usually incriminating. When they are not incriminating, they are incomprehensible strings of letters and numbers that usually result in bounced emails if I need to communicate with them. Some favorites: dahotshot xxluciousxx utimateprincess youareallineedtonight b4ub3e9url15 all03my23love02 no1brownguyforlife But, in fact, I am significantly more bothered by a different problem, which is emails (generally with no salutation and no indication of who they are from) which read like this: i nd 2 no what # pgs the ppr has 2 b can u tll me thnks (incidently, the students sometimes use these shortcuts in written work that they hand in, especially the "2" and "u") One institution at which I teach has only just started offering incoming students the opportunity to get email addresses easily—before, only upperclasspeople who needed accounts on specific computer systems received them. In consequence, all of my students use their own email addresses from yahoo, aol, hotmail, etc. These are quite usually incriminating. When they are not incriminating, they are incomprehensible strings of letters and numbers that usually result in bounced emails if I need to communicate with them.

Some favorites:

dahotshot
xxluciousxx
utimateprincess
youareallineedtonight
b4ub3e9url15
all03my23love02
no1brownguyforlife

But, in fact, I am significantly more bothered by a different problem, which is emails (generally with no salutation and no indication of who they are from) which read like this:

i nd 2 no what # pgs the ppr has 2 b can u tll me thnks

(incidently, the students sometimes use these shortcuts in written work that they hand in, especially the “2” and “u”)

]]> By: polyglot conspiracy » Blog Archive » More on email names as symbolic capital http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145424 polyglot conspiracy » Blog Archive » More on email names as symbolic capital Wed, 22 Feb 2006 16:15:59 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145424 [...] Kieran Healy at Crooked Timber mentions something interesting in his post about yesterday’s NYT article about email between students and professors as sometimes crossing acceptable boundaries (which I posted differently about over at SocioCMC): One thing it didn’t mention: even though universities give students email addresses, it’s often the case that students won’t use them. Instead they prefer their free hotmail or yahoo or gmail addresses. No problem as such there, except that sometimes the students pick the kind of addresses for themselves that aren’t exactly professional-quality. Frankly it feels a bit odd to correspond with, e.g., missbitchy23 or WildcatBongs about letters of reference or what have you. [...] [...] Kieran Healy at Crooked Timber mentions something interesting in his post about yesterday’s NYT article about email between students and professors as sometimes crossing acceptable boundaries (which I posted differently about over at SocioCMC): One thing it didn’t mention: even though universities give students email addresses, it’s often the case that students won’t use them. Instead they prefer their free hotmail or yahoo or gmail addresses. No problem as such there, except that sometimes the students pick the kind of addresses for themselves that aren’t exactly professional-quality. Frankly it feels a bit odd to correspond with, e.g., missbitchy23 or WildcatBongs about letters of reference or what have you. [...]

]]> By: David in NY http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-2/#comment-145409 David in NY Wed, 22 Feb 2006 15:00:01 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145409 Hi, jbl, or fuzzyjoel. I hope you use your FAS account for all formal dealings. Whatever its capacity. jbl----@college.edu sounds so much more professional. D Hi, jbl, or fuzzyjoel. I hope you use your FAS account for all formal dealings. Whatever its capacity. jbl——@college.edu sounds so much more professional.

D

]]> By: Alex http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-1/#comment-145385 Alex Wed, 22 Feb 2006 12:16:06 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145385 Ah, university email.. At RHUL email address were (and still are) issued in the format initial.initial.surname@rhul.ac.uk, which is fair enough. Strangely, even pre-GMail quite a lot of people preferred to use their stupidname@hotmail.com rather than the college MS Exchange box with things like spam filtration and important messages people wanted them to read. Within the walls of the campus LAN, very little spam penetrated even in the peak years of 2001-2004. However the real problem was OSS, Officially Sanctioned Spam, generated by hordes of authorities with the ability to send-to-all. The sports centre was especially given to hit reply-all until students began to mailbomb them every time they did it. It didn't help that the management's answer was to create new bureaucruft delivery units called "intranet" and "bulletin box". Stupid names...I applied for a job on a major national newspaper, and they sent the 20 page application form to me as a .doc attachment. They also included all the other applicants in the ccs. I still wonder if someone on that paper is pinkfluffmonster@confidentiality.com.. Ah, university email..

At RHUL email address were (and still are) issued in the format initial.initial.surname@rhul.ac.uk, which is fair enough. Strangely, even pre-GMail quite a lot of people preferred to use their stupidname@hotmail.com rather than the college MS Exchange box with things like spam filtration and important messages people wanted them to read.

Within the walls of the campus LAN, very little spam penetrated even in the peak years of 2001-2004. However the real problem was OSS, Officially Sanctioned Spam, generated by hordes of authorities with the ability to send-to-all. The sports centre was especially given to hit reply-all until students began to mailbomb them every time they did it. It didn’t help that the management’s answer was to create new bureaucruft delivery units called “intranet” and “bulletin box”.

Stupid names…I applied for a job on a major national newspaper, and they sent the 20 page application form to me as a .doc attachment. They also included all the other applicants in the ccs. I still wonder if someone on that paper is pinkfluffmonster@confidentiality.com..

]]> By: Seth Finkelstein http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/comment-page-1/#comment-145382 Seth Finkelstein Wed, 22 Feb 2006 11:38:51 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/02/21/email-from-students/#comment-145382 [The MIT username poster, author doesn't wish to have name attached] ON CHOOSING A USERNAME, FOR THOSE WHO ARE JUST REGISTERING FOR AN ACCOUNT <em>The naming of cats is a difficult matter, It isn't just one of your holiday games. You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter When I tell you a cat must have three different names. - T.S.Eliot</em> There are several things to keep in mind when choosing a username: 1) It will be EXTREMELY difficult to change, thus it ought to be something you won't mind living with for the next four years. 2) It must not include any characters other than numbers and letters, otherwise you will not be able to get mail. 3) You will come to be known to some people by your username, thus it would be nice if they could pronounce it. 4) Your username is NOT a password: your password can be changed at will. 5) Choose a name you wouldn't mind being known as by professors or the scientific community at large. Being an MIT student, chances are that you will carry on work on Athena, and will have to come in contact with such people via your account. Don't choose a name that you would be embarrassed to give to a seventy-year-old professor of the opposite sex in front of two hundred classmates. 6) Don't be afraid to choose something other than your real name, if you don't mind explaining to people why you chose it. 7) The appeal of jokes and characters from popular culture gets stale. You may not always like a character from a book or movie and you may tire of a joke. Sometimes, though, they do work for people. 8) Taking a name that you feel describes you well (to ALL people you could ever meet) is always a good idea. 9) Phrases are almost always a bad idea. 10) Take a name that will make you happy. [The MIT username poster, author doesn’t wish to have name attached]

ON CHOOSING A USERNAME,
FOR THOSE WHO ARE JUST REGISTERING FOR AN ACCOUNT

The naming of cats is a difficult matter,
It isn’t just one of your holiday games.
You may think at first I’m as mad as a hatter
When I tell you a cat must have three different names. – T.S.Eliot
There are several things to keep in mind when choosing a username:
1) It will be EXTREMELY difficult to change, thus it ought to be something you won’t mind living with for the next four years.

2) It must not include any characters other than numbers and letters, otherwise you will not be able to get mail.

3) You will come to be known to some people by your username, thus it would be nice if they could pronounce it.

4) Your username is NOT a password: your password can be changed at will.

5) Choose a name you wouldn’t mind being known as by professors or the scientific community at large. Being an MIT student, chances are that you will carry on work on Athena, and will have to come in contact with such people via your account. Don’t choose a name that you would be embarrassed to give to a seventy-year-old professor of the opposite sex in front of two hundred classmates.

6) Don’t be afraid to choose something other than your real name, if you don’t mind explaining to people why you chose it.

7) The appeal of jokes and characters from popular culture gets stale. You may not always like a character from a book or movie and you may tire of a joke. Sometimes, though, they do work for people.

8) Taking a name that you feel describes you well (to ALL people you could ever meet) is always a good idea.

9) Phrases are almost always a bad idea.

10) Take a name that will make you happy.

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