The trouble with email ......
is that it makes people very "brave" in their communication. As an educator, I receive some very rude emails from my students and from my colleagues in the clinical sites. Yet when you see these people face to face or talk to them on the phone, they aren't so "brave" anymore and the point that they are trying to make all of a sudden becomes quite cordial. You have no idea how many fuck-you themed responses I have written to their emails, but not sent. The best piece of advice that I got when I took this position was to compose my response when I'm pissed off - fine - but don't send it. Save it until the next day when I find that I don't need to send it anymore because I'm not pissed off anymore. I think that email is making students very lazy as well - why look for the information that you need when you can just email your instructor and get them to tell you where to look.

I wonder what would happen if we had an official "no email" week ........ Do you think that people would actually talk to each other again?