As usual, Charles Tuite's blog "Seeing To It"
has nailed another key issue in contemporary information science.
He is one of the thought-leaders produced by the Center for Information and Communication Sciences
master's program at Ball State University.
I recommend you read in its entirety his latest post, "A New Coat of Paint"
Tuite says:
[A]t least a passing comment is needed to address the seemingly endless stream of FUD ["Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt"] coming out of the security segment of the IT world regarding social networking and the associated softwares. The simple fact of life is that the only absolutely secure software is one never installed, and the only safe network is one powered down. There are varying degrees of security and hardening, but it is more guaranteed by the policies and implementations of technology than by any one software.
Note the force of the well-written phrase: "The simple fact of life is that the only absolutely secure software is one never installed, and the only safe network is one powered down."
Next, Tuite recommends using the "Subject" line to convey routine information, instead of forcing the reader to open a message that simply contains the same information that could be in the "Subject" line used as a headline, as in journalism:
Here are two potential examples of messages:1) To: People
From:ctuite@bsu.edu
Subj: CM02 will be taken down for maintenance at 17:00 today.
or the second, more standard:2) To: People
From:ctuite@bsu.edu
Subj: CM02 down for maintenanceTo my co-workers - this afternoon, the CM02 server will be brought down so that some maintenance may be performed.
There is some background information needed here. The audience is a group of co-workers who know the terminology. They are also extremely busy - I've said before that we first overclocked the machines, then we overclocked ourselves. Therefore, why would there be a need to stick to the standard business format of a subject line, then a more expansive restatement of the message? A quick blurb is not only acceptable, it must also be preferred, given the audience and environment.
When I worked at Bellcore, now Telcordia Technologies,
its professionals were so busy, and we received such a torrent of email, that many people there literally stopped reading emails, unless the messages were sent from your boss, your family, or your real friends.
People started using the "Subject" line to send the essential information, so at least you got your true message across to people who wouldn't open messages. It worked. It was email-receipt-queue as bulletin board.
Thank you once again, Charles Tuite, for helping your colleagues by seeing to it--the issues of our field, deeply
thought through and well-expressed.