Email is no longer reliable
I received angry email this morning from a distinguished emeritus professor who wrote to me a few days ago with a question. I answered him right away. He didn’t receive the reply. Now he thinks I’m a scoundrel and a bum.
The word has changed: you can’t rely on email anymore. One way to help everyone cope, though, is to go back to the old practice of including alternative contact information in your email signature. Add your phone number and mailing address to your email; it can’t hurt!