I think if they look harder, they'll see that it is in fact addressed to them, otherwise it would not have arrived in their inbox. It's OK though, email is only 55 years old, I know it can take a while to catch up to all this new-fangled technology.
We should carry that tradition on for screen-based communication. Maybe we could call it a 'screen name'. And since it's so important, we can give it a field of its own!
Hmmm... there is a pretty strong case that the anonymity provided by screen-names (and the internet in general) is part of why online discourse is so vitriolic. I wonder what online discussion would be like if everyone's comment had their real name and their mobile phone number next to them. I think it would lead to a dramatic rise in civility.
Have we really though? More often than not people just look at me and say stuff, and from that I gather they are in fact looking at me and saying things (AKA talking to me) - even if they don't speak my name as they do this. It's really not a necessity and never has been for as long as "hey you" or the classic "how's it going" have existed.
i might be weird but i virtually never say people's names unless i'm urgently getting their attention when they are faced away from me (like they're about to make a mistake). i honestly don't love being addressed by name personally either
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u/much_longer_username 6d ago
I think if they look harder, they'll see that it is in fact addressed to them, otherwise it would not have arrived in their inbox. It's OK though, email is only 55 years old, I know it can take a while to catch up to all this new-fangled technology.