What's with [Google's] entire attitude, anymore? [NT]

[Wilson Gray]

If I find something of trivial interest, I use it as the subject and
add [NT] = "No Text." That way - I thought - the reader would realize
that I had nothing to say beyond, "This strikes me as of interest, but
I have no useful comment." So, if the reader likewise finds the matter
unworthy of comment, he can simply delete it immediately.

Several years - well, a couple of dekkids or so ago - [NT] was used in
memos, e.g. See Carl his office 3pm [NT], where I worked. That way,
you knew that, if you opened the memo, you wouldn't find, "He wishes
to discuss with you the matter that you brought up during this
morning's staff meeting" or anything else. I used this with a friend
about a dekkid ago, not knowing that [NT] wasn't universal. He asked
me what it meant. I explained and suggested that he also start using
it, so as to spread it around. He agreed, but obviously to little
avail. I've seen it used in the letters-to-the-editor section of
Slashdot and eslewhere, upon occasion, but that's about it.

So, IAC, if you see [NT], there's no need to bother to do anything
except to delete that e-mail, it being only one degree removed from
spam, unless *you* find it worth a comment. I'll also put [NT] at the
beginning, instead, lest the subject be so long that a final [NT]
doesn't appear and the recipient, therefore, has no idea that the
subject *is* the message, until after he's wasted his time opening the
non-message.

My apologies, yet again, for assuming that others can read my mind.

-Wilson

On Wed, May 19, 2010 at 6:49 AM, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
> Subject:      Re: What's with [Google's] entire attitude, anymore? [NT]
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The messages have been blank. Nothing's wrong with the
> machinery on ADS-L's end.
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
>
> On Wed, May 19, 2010 at 09:50:49AM +0000, ronbutters at AOL.COM wrote:
>> ave now received three messages from Wilson, two with no text at all and this one that seems to be some kind of mistake. Is there something wrong with the machinery somewhere, or is ADS-L now a channel for saying nothing at all?
>> ------Original Message------
>> From: Wilson Gray
>> Sender: ADS-L
>> To: ADS-L
>> ReplyTo: ADS-L
>> Subject: [ADS-L] What's with [Google's] entire attitude, anymore? [NT]
>> Sent: May 19, 2010 1:04 AM
>>
>> --
>> -Wilson
>> –––
>> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"––a strange complaint to
>> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>> –Mark Twain
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>>
>> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org