A Total Ramble on the "Thresholds in Communication"

Sometimes I don't have much to say. I guess that's the point of a true blog. Say what you want, when you want. It's not like I've got some editor or publisher hounding me, right?
Email and web forums are like that, too. It's a lot like you're talking, only the words stick around for a long time.

A blog (like here) is your own spot. You say what you want, feelings be damned, if you want to be that way... I don't. I realize that this little spot on the internet can be found by my family, friends, coworkers, aquaintances, my some-day-to-be-ex-wife, etc. I type with that in mind.

Most of us know the "rule" of delayed email sending: Save that complaining, harsh email for a while and reconsider it later, lest you offend someone inadvertantly (or think better of it).
I suppose forums should have the same "rule." It's harder, though. On a forum, you're sort of "talking" to someone. Delaying the post is a little hard to deal with. Some forums I visit have moderated posting, which makes it take a long time to converse back and forth with your friends on the forum.

Sometimes even the most innocent words look bad on the screen. "Hmmm, I was THINKING
sarcastically, why's she mad?" Even those little emoticons don't help much. Maybe I use or read them wrong, but those fake little faces just don't have the same effect that a true face, in person, would.

So, just as conversations, in person, have thresholds that we won't cross, we (me, too) need to consider our online communication thresholds. We've had millions of years of practice communuicating in person, but only a few learning to deal with people on the other end of a computer screen.

We inherently know our in-person thresholds and STILL mess up quite often. Without actively considering our online, email, voice mail, forum, and newsgroup thresholds, we don't stand a chance. It's hard enough to keep friends that you see every day. Lose a friend on the internet and he's gone. You're unlikely to rekindle your relationship the next time you run into him at Starbucks, because your two Starbucks are in different cities, states, or countries.