The inevitable off-topic banter
~ 16 April 2004 ~
Let’s face it: Without off-topic banter—jokes, digressions, and the like—work, communication, and life in general just wouldn’t be as enjoyable.
NOTE
Refresh the content style sheet if the images below aren’t displayed.Just yesterday, after receiving an email from Melanie, one of our project managers, I responded with a quick reply to inquire about a few items of business… and, of course, one item of off-topic banter:
“Without being so proactive as to actually open the file and look :) what are we looking at in terms of the amount of changes? Just a few spelling fixes? An entire replacement? And when is it due? Does it need a scope? If I cough at the same time I sneeze, does it cause internal kidney damage?”
After responding to the on-topic questions, Melanie saw fit to include this closing paragraph:
“Coughing and sneezing at the same time, is very rare, but probably not impossible. Me, being an expert on nephrology, feel comfortable saying that the kidneys would not receive any internal damage from this phenomena, however, if the shock causes one to fall on his back hard enough there may be some external renal bruising. One thing I am sure of, however, is that you must keep your eyes tightly shut thru the whole thing. The eyes WILL pop out from the force (and i’m not talking Jedi force here) of the “snough”. thanks-mel”
Snough, lol. Hilarious and well-crafted. I still chuckle each time I see it.
See what I mean, Gene? Doesn’t off-topic banter, in moderation, give life a little more ‘flavuh’?
What really impresses me are those who toss in jests on a consistent basis. I’ve chatted with Greg Storey by email on a few occasions, and I’ll tell ya—he’s just as witty in email conversation as he is on his site. After firing off a quick email to point out a spelling error and asking if it was intentional, I received this reply from Greg:
“Hey Cameron, Misspelling is never intentional, just a curse I picked up while treasure hunting in the Sierra Madre. Thanks. Greg”
Classic, Greg. Just classic.
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1 ak ~ 16 April 2004 at 03:03 PM
i think that there is a point to how far one can jest, however. i’ve seen many email topics turn from a witty comment into a mass of nothingness aimed at being funny