Why Emails Are Misunderstood

[DudeAsInCool]

It's all about me: Why e-mails are so easily misunderstood

Michael Morris and Jeff Lowenstein wouldn't have recognized each other if they'd met on the street, but that didn't stop them from getting into a shouting match. The professors had been working together on a research study when a technical glitch inconvenienced Mr. Lowenstein. He complained in an e-mail, raising Mr. Morris's ire. Tempers flared.

"It became very embarrassing later," says Morris, when it turned out there had been a miscommunication, "but we realized that we couldn't blame each other for yelling about it because that's what we were studying."

Read more:

Christian Science Monitor

[Wolfie]

First and foremost, e-mail lacks cues like facial expression and tone of voice.

That is what smilies for. :P