Uffizi gallery director lays down email rules in Italy

[janusz]

After seven years running Italy's flagship museum the Uffizi, its director has clearly had enough of inappropriate punctuation.

Eike Schmidt has laid out his rules for email etiquette in a message to staff.

Bold characters are out, although underlining is still acceptable where suitable for words or salient phrases. "You should also avoid whole sentences in capitals," Mr Schmidt says. His circular may have lacked Dante's style but the sentiment was clear:

Capitals should be limited to proper names of where their use is required by Italian grammar
Ellipsis, where words are left out but understood, should be avoided...
Work emails should always be "clear, explicit and never allusive"

.

Source: bbc.com

[webecedarian]

The Uffizi? I'm surprised they even do email. I'd expect them to still be using quill pens.

[janusz]

Possibly the same rules apply to messages written on parchment using quill pens

[webecedarian]

Wait a minute. I just did a double-take: Eike Schmidt?

So, a precise German trying to lay down rules for the flaky Italians?

[TenFour]

I understand the problem, but that cat was let out of the bag long ago. Most people are terrible writers, necessitating three or four emails back and forth to figure out what the person is trying to tell you when one email should have done the job. But, that seems to be the nature of today's online society. Periodically I read and sometimes participate in various online support forums for various services I use and I am appalled at the terrible writing demonstrated. Often it is impossible to figure out what the person is trying to communicate without several posts back and forth, and even then sometimes we are left to wonder what he or she is writing about.

[webecedarian]

Originally Posted by TenFour

I understand the problem, but that cat was let out of the bag long ago. Most people are terrible writers, necessitating three or four emails back and forth to figure out what the person is trying to tell you when one email should have done the job. But, that seems to be the nature of today's online society. Periodically I read and sometimes participate in various online support forums for various services I use and I am appalled at the terrible writing demonstrated. Often it is impossible to figure out what the person is trying to communicate without several posts back and forth, and even then sometimes we are left to wonder what he or she is writing about.

Many people are also terrible readers.

My neighbor told me today that she'd gotten a text from a friend asking if she'd like to borrow a book. The exchange was something like this:

Q:I just finished a great book I think you'll like. Do you want to borrow it?

A: Yes. I usually do like books you recommend.

Q: So do you want to borrow it?

A: Did you not see the first word of my reply? Yes.

[TenFour]

Many people are also terrible readers.

This is true! How many people today ever pick up a book and read it? I am so glad that when my kids were young we routinely went places with no Internet so they became avid readers. I go to our lovely local library all the time and there is never anyone there.

[webecedarian]

Originally Posted by TenFour

This is true! How many people today ever pick up a book and read it? I am so glad that when my kids were young we routinely went places with no Internet so they became avid readers. I go to our lovely local library all the time and there is never anyone there.

It's probably more than the absence of internet, though. I was reading an article about a father despairing over his son, but it didn't seem to bother him that the kid had no interst in anything other than playing sports.