Colloquium: Tone and Electronic Communication-- Frustrated Reader Weighs In

We just received the following comments from frustrated reader Phillip Olsson. Olsson decided to kill two birds with one stone, embedding a scathing critique of IECW's graphics department in his remarks. Our frustrated friend deployed the following case study in order to shed some light on the usage of "caps lock" in electronic communication:

Example 1: PLEASE MAKE THE CAPTIONS ON PICTURES MORE READABLE!

I think the tone of this is pretty obvious. This IECW reader is clearly frustrated by not being able to read the captions included on IECW photos. We know this for two reasons. First, there is the grammatical structure itself: the sentence is written as a command. But a command in and of itself does not necessarily express frustration. For example, if the reader had simply written, "Please make the captions on pictures more readable!" this comes across not so much as a command voiced out of frustration, but as a polite suggestion. This is especially so when the command is prefaced with "please." Building on the original sentence itself, however, is the fact that the command is spelled out in "caps." Because we know that the use of caps signifies that an electronic communicator is shouting, we can easily imagine the reader blurting out the command. There is a pronounced lack of nuance. We picture the reader, nose only inches from his MacBook, sitting at his carrel in the third floor of the law library, squinting desperately as he attempts to decipher what could either be a "q" or a "g," it's impossible to say, who uses yellow type in a caption anyway? Seriously, who does this?

Example 2: Could you make the captions on your pictures a little less readable?

This reader is well versed in the subtle art of sarcasm. Bravo! Although some people a little less experienced in the craft might assume that this is no more than an honest request, when we look at the captions on IECW -and see just how utterly unreadable they are- we quickly realize this reader is not really desirous of what he ostensibly asks for. Clearly, this reader, again, sitting with his nose only inches away from his MacBook, in his carrel, number 3-79 on the third floor of the library, is frustrated.

HOPE THIS HELPS!

We will continuing to publish contributions to our colloquim on tone and electronic communication as we receive them.