don't you hate it when people send you an email and the entire content of the email is contained within the subject line and it goes all the way across the subject line and on and on and on but you can't read all of it because it gets cut off and then you ....

I have a client who does this. It annoys me to no end.

EVERY email he sends has the question or comment or whatever he is trying to say contained ENTIRELY within the subject line of the email. There is no email part to the email. And they ALL get cut off at the end of the subject field because he types more words than can fit in the subject line.

This means I then have to try and interpret what he's saying, and usually that means I have to send an email back to him with a bunch of questions clarifying whatever it is he is trying to say in the subject line. He would save us both a lot of time, trouble, and confusion if he would just take a few extra seconds and tell me all of what he tries to fit in the subject line by putting it in the body part of the email.... where it can actually be read and understood.

I have some friends who do this, too. Although not to the extent that it is so much text in the subject line that it runs out of room in the subject line and you are left with the ...

I can understand if it's just a quick email, and the entire point of the email can be contained in a few words in the subject line, such as:

Lunch?
Dinner tonight?
You're very pretty.
I'm pregnant!

I don't have a problem with any of those. They are short and to the point and are serving a purpose. These are good.

But, don't tell me your life story in the subject line. Or ask me a series of questions with multiple choice answers. Or try to explain any theories or holes in logic. If you can't be bothered to start with a basic subject idea in a word or few, then hit the Tab button once and proceed with a congenial message that shows you have more time for me than it would indicate by not bothering to get yourself out of the subject line, I don't want to hear from you.

People, it is a subject line for a reason. It is meant to only contain the subject of the email that it accompanies.

I like emails. I probably like you. I don't generally get emails from people I don't like, because the ones who don't like me don't bother emailing. So, do me the honor of writing to me if you are going to bother at all.

It brings me great joy to hear more than just a few words from you, because you are more than just a subject line to me.

C.T.