Check your tone

[PhilT]

Useful piece of software for anyone whose caps lock is permanently on, or who can't understand why their posts irritate so many other people.

http://tonecheck.com/

Might be interesting to run a few of the Outpost German/Dutch/WWII posts through it and see where they come on the emotional scale. 

[uwe]

I work in a predominantly English law firm and the Brits are masters at using decoy language. Some examples:

what they say:                                 what they really mean:

this is interesting                               utter crap, inane comment, let's move on
I'm sure it is my fault ...                      it is sqarely and utterly your fault, you moron
I have a slight concern                       we're in deep shit
a very good effort                              what a disappointing failure you are
not bad                                            actually quite good, we just don't want to show excitement about it
a good piece of work                          lacking any sparkle and workmanlike, you will go nowhere

[drbassman]

Wow Uwe, working in a law firm sounds a lot like a university setting!  No one speaks the truth where I work and the official language is "euphamisism" and Misdirection.

[Highlander]

Uwe forgot the most dangerous comment of all...

"He has the full support of the board..." (where can we bury the body...?)

[uwe]

True, that sentence generally has a "best used before ..."-timeline of a couple of days.

[jumbodbassman]

I see you speak the same language as Corporate America....

[TBird1958]

I can see how this could drive you and your highly organized teutonic brain to drinking Herr Moderator.......... Perhaps some sort of retaliation with ze Heinkels is in order.

[Pilgrim]

Wow Uwe, working in a law firm sounds a lot like a university setting!  No one speaks the truth where I work and the official language is "euphamisism" and Misdirection.

Dr. Bill, you have it right.  My institution shares some of the same linguistic misdirection.  In my division we have our own bit of approved shorthand.  When we refer to someone as an "esteemed colleague" it is a polite substitute for "flaming asshole".

Actually, we tend to be reasonably direct, just more polite than needed.  After 30 years in academe I'm finally learning how to be slightly less direct and more circumspect.  

[PhilT]

I see you speak the same language as Corporate America....

Apparently we are just a small, unregarded outpost of Corporate America.

I can't go and ask someone a question now, I have to reach out to them. And I can't give them information, I have to share it.

[drbassman]

Uwe forgot the most dangerous comment of all...

"He has the full support of the board..." (where can we bury the body...?)

  Good one Kenny!!!!

[drbassman]

Dr. Bill, you have it right.  My institution shares some of the same linguistic misdirection.  In my division we have our own but of approved shorthand.  When we refer to someone as an "esteemed colleague" it is a polite substitute for "flaming asshole".

Actually, we tend to be reasonably direct, just more polite than needed.  After 30 years in academe I'm finally learning how to be slightly less direct and more circumspect. 

Actually Al, I'm becoming more direct and less circumspect.  I'm a couple years from retirement and I don't give a rat's rear what people think anymore.  I've got a limited amount of time to make my point and get things accomplished and I don't suffer fools, or academic politicians, well any longer.  I'm in the most dysfunction organization I've ever worked in and it doesn't bring out the "best" in me.

[Highlander]

What we Brits must remember, regardless of our European links (and our PM forgetting which year WWII started, whilst performing his best (literary) Uriah Heep - ever so 'umple, I iz... ), we are living in the 51st State...

What line of work are you in, Bill...? generalisations are more than enough, if reqd...

[Pilgrim]

"two nations divided by a common language"....ain't it true?

I agree with the increasing tendency to speak directly, Bill.  I'm 60 and senior enough now that I increasingly call 'em as I see 'em.  

However, I have also learned about that honey/vinegar thing...since persuasion is still needed.  I've worked into a position where I'm one of the primary influencers setting the agenda for instructional technology for our entire campus.  It's interesting to try and keep my crystal ball accurate as to where we need to be three to five years from now in terms of web conferencing, lecture capture, video and audio podcasts, RSS feeds and those kinds of things. Seems like most of the calls in the last year have been good ones, and I try to keep all the players involved so we can make joint recommendations.  I don't have a title that indicates this is my job with any scope larger than Continuing Education...but it turns out that we're the only ones with a need to drive the technology forward, so the campus folks are cooperating and the result benefits all 24,000 students.

And then I get to play with bright, shiny new toys on campus!

[PhilT]

As an antidote to political correctness gone mad, there's always the Twat-o-Tron.

http://ifyoulikeitsomuchwhydontyougolivethere.com/the-twat-o-tron/

Just keep pressing the New button. It generates combinations of genuine comments from a BBC web site. What the people really think.

[Lightyear]

Apparently we are just a small, unregarded outpost of Corporate America.

I can't go and ask someone a question now, I have to reach out to them. And I can't give them information, I have to share it.

Yes indeed!  My most favorite one is "....an opportunity has come up and ......"  Translated  - "A massive, steaming, pile-o-sh*t task has come up and it's your problem"