e-mail bankruptcy
n.— «Dr. Turkle said that in her research on people’s relationship with computation, she hears more and more about a fantasy she calls “e-mail bankruptcy,” a fantasy that she sometimes shares. “In my case,” she said, “when I feel that “doing my e-mail’ is taking me away from the people and the work that I care about, I might declare bankruptcy.” The senders of the thousand or so pieces of e-mail in her In basket would receive an automatic message saying something like: “Thank you for your message. Unfortunately, my unread mail has become too numerous for me to process and much of it may by now be out of date. I will not be replying to any of my current messages. If you still need to contact me, please send a new message.”» —“In Lost E-Mail, a Dividend” by Constance Rosenblum New York Times Feb. 14, 2002. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Suzanne in Tucson, Arizona, says her mother used to say the following to her quickly: Will you? Won’t you? Can’t I coax you? Aw, c’mon! You said you would! You think you might? You promised me! Won’t your mama let ya, huh...
Understanding the varieties of conversational styles can mean the difference between feeling you’re understood and being insulted. “High-involvement” speakers interrupt or talk along with someone else to signal their enthusiasm...