Sending Email to Member vs Forum

When I want to communicate with someone privately, I temporarily open my e-mail address in my profile for them to contact me, advise them that it is in my profile. It is an e-mail address which I use exclusively for online business. It already is inundated with spam, but has a fairly good spam filter so most of it goes into the junk mail folder. Once the person has contacted me, I again set my e-mail address to Hidden.

If you don't already know about it, there's mailinator.com.

http://www.mailinator.com/

I really don't mind opening my e-mail here on occasion. I just don't leave it open all the time because when I leave ASC, I really am taking a break from it. It is the same reason I don't use e-mail subscriptions to discussions here. Ever. (I'm here more often than I'm checking my e-mail, anyway. 😀)

I've had several cases of people looking up my email address from my website and emailing me with a question: it amounts to trying to queue-jump - and of course if you answer it you won't get any points (assuming that you might in the forum, which is a long assumption) and, perhaps more to the point, other people won't see and possibly benefit from the answer. I generally answer once, but make it politely clear that I'm not prepared to run an email clinic. Only very occasionally, usually when there's been a privacy issue, have I invited someone to email me.

Private Messaging is less intrusive because it doesn't pop up at you when you're not on the forums, but with a very few exceptions I think it goes against the spirit of co-operation which should inform a forum (no pun intended, for once).

I've had several cases of people looking up my email address from my website and emailing me with a question:

Here is an idea: if someone thinks they are entitled to one-on-one assistance (including facetime as previously suggested), simply inform them of your hourly rates..... I think that'll take care of it.

They couldn't afford me 🙂. And I wouldn't touch Facetime with a bargepole - you can apparently only turn it off by diving into the preferences - with Skype if you're busy you just don't run it, but Facetime will intrude even if it's not running unless you take steps to stop it.

They couldn't afford me 🙂

LOL 😁

And I agree 100% with the remainder of your post - I did not know this about Facetime, thanks for the warning.

Sorry, I don't have iChat activated and I'm not available 24 hours a day - I actually turn off my phone! Which reminds me, I guess it's time to turn it on this morning...... 🙂

Roger Wilmut1 wrote:

Facetime will intrude even if it's not running unless you take steps to stop it.

It's never intruded on me.

Please elaborate?

Dan --

I love iChat.

It's great for troubleshooting another Mac, sending large files, and chatting.

Babowa -- It's just like Safari, really. You activate it when you want to use it.

I turn it on when I feel like communicating.

Roger Wilmut1 wrote:

Facetime will intrude even if it's not running unless you take steps to stop it.

Please explain this?

MtD

I like that FT isn't running unless someone's calling. I can still

ignore. Maybe Apple anticipated this by incorporating the tiniest

little ringer I've almost never heard. BTW, an issue with more than

a few.

~Bee wrote:

Dan --

I love iChat.

It's great for troubleshooting another Mac, sending large files, and chatting.

Babowa -- It's just like Safari, really. You activate it when you want to use it.

I turn it on when I feel like communicating.

I've never even launched iChat, but I believe you need some sort of account to use it with (and which you have to pay for)? I guess I just don't need it (have no one I'd need to send a large file to) and/or I'm too old fashioned - when I feel like communicating, I actually make a phone call; mainly because the people I want to chat with either do not have a computer or prefer a call. If there's no rush, an email will do......