When hosts of semi-popular websites don't answer their e-mail, do you understand, or do you think it's rude? Or do you do both? Or is it something in between?

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

Answers

I think I'm very lucky that I have always gotten responses when I've written to people with popular online journals. I've read in lots of different places about people who aren't happy with someone because they haven't written back to them, and I wonder why those same people wrote back to me.

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

I've only written to two hosts and I'm lucky, too, that both responded. There are times when I write to this other one and it may be months, if ever, before she responds, and I understand. I think if I don't keep some sort of understanding and keep it all in perspective it would be too easy to become a stalker. (Note to stalkers: Not that there's anything wrong with that. Please don't kill me.)

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

Paul, hee-hee!

I'm just sad if they don't answer my email, because it proves what I suspected all along: their lives are way more interesting and busy than mine.

But really, I understand. They probably get lots of email. Under the circumstances, answering personal email from strangers probably gets real old, real quick. :)

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

You'd think writing to Santa would condition us not to expect an answer.

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

Eva said it well, it is a bit disappointing but I can only imagine what it must be like to have a mailbox full of letters from strangers. I'm sure it could be quite tedious. Anyway, when I have written website hosts I didn't much expect any reply; it was usually just a "thanks love your site & here's why" kind of note. To actually receive a gracious reply would be awfully nice, but that doesn't seem like a realistic expectation to have.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2000

gwen i emailed you once but you never answerd me. did you ever get it?

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2000

The only host I ever emailed was Gwen and she wrote me back promptly! I just wanted to tell her she was cool and entertaining and stuff..Hey, Gwen, I'm gonna write you again--just to see if you'll write me back. HA!

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2000

Santa answered me, but he signed with a stamp. Highly suspicious.

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2000

Santa answered me, too, and he must really be magic because he knows how to write exactly like my mum.

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2000

It bugs me when people don't answer my emails. But only when I am asking a specific question and it warrants a response. It always makes my day when someone who's work I admire emails me back. Even superstars are human. I use that word superstar very loosely here. I've never contacted an actual celebrity.

I always answer all the emails I get unless of course they are from some asshole talking trash or they're incoherant. I figure if someone took the time to write I can take the time to answer if an answer seems appropriate. Plus I like getting fan mail. Sometimes it's just what I need if I'm having a bad day. In most cases I will just say thanks for writing. It only takes a few seconds and it's considerate. I want to treat people the way I want to be treated. It's the golden rule. This makes me sound like a very moral and nice person. I have a love/hate relationship with most humans. I don't believe in being polite. I believe in being considerate. Politeness doesn't equal compassion. I've gone off topic again.

-- Anonymous, September 10, 2000

Well said, G!

-- Anonymous, September 10, 2000

I once sent Ben Stein an email and he responded immediately. Which really astounded me, but made me his biggest fan, too.

-- Anonymous, September 11, 2000

So scrnwrt, did you ask him a question? Was he witty in his reply?

-- Anonymous, September 11, 2000

Yes. Details, please.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2000

http://nixonrules.freeservers.com/Stein.html

It's all documented here. He didn't answer all of our questions, but he did answer one. The only other Watergate figure we got to respond was Chuck Colson (and not really, it was his publicist) and his publicist was very snippy.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2000

scrnwrt, that's pretty neat. :) Ben Stein seems like an interesting person, all in all.

(Plus...G. Gordon Liddy action figures?! *howl* :) :) )

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2000

I think it's funny that Ben Stein has his dog on his interview show with him (can't think of the name now - the show, not the dog.)

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2000

All hail Puppywuppy! (I think that's the dog's name.)

It's a brilliant move. I know I feel more relaxed if there's a dog or cat around, it makes the other people in the room far less intimidating if they have a pet they dote on.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2000

I don't e-mail busy webmasters and webmistresses often. If I do and don't get a response, I usually think they're busy, my e-mail was neutral enough in tone that it didn't appear to require a reply, or that it got put aside for later and later has yet to roll around.

After nearly ten years online, mailing people I don't know has lost a lot of charm in general, though. I get up to 200-250 e- mails on an average day and I know how it feels to get more mail than you have time to respond to.

I suppose *I* am an e-mail ignoring bitch...though eventually I do reply to most of it.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2000

Yesterday I sent Sarah of Tomato Nation a very short note. Her entry about her sick kitty made me bawl my eyes out. So I sent her about 2 lines, telling her I liked her site and hoped her cat would get well soon. Today I found a reply from her in my mailbox and was so touched that despite all the mail she must get and everything else she must have going on, she still made time to thank me. Very classy, I do say.

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2000

Well, yeah, if you're talking about classy people in the first place, then of course there's Sarah. I mean, how could I compete with that?

Let's put a link to her site right here so she can see it in her referrer logs: Hi, Sarah! Recover soon, Hobe!

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2000

Gwen, did you see Sarah's new bracelets? cool...wouldn't Gwentown look neat on one of those? (is this tacky to post? if so, blast it)

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2000

No, it's not tacky. Yeah, they look cool. I wonder what colors they come in.

I hope Sarah doesn't mind if I tell y'all that Hobey went home today. Isn't that good news?

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2000

That's very good news. Her entry made me bawl my eyes out!

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2000