@sugargremlin — way to feed his paranoia! 
@Sean I get this all the time. I’ve been called on the carpet for my emails having a “tone,” and my wife and family often “read” emotions that just aren’t there. It’s frustrating, because I can be having a perfectly pleasant day, and someone close to me will say, “what’s the matter with you.” It’s like everyone speaks this emotional language, and I’m a deaf mute. On the plus side, it makes me a great poker player.
One thing my wife said that kind of helps (she’s English, so somewhat of an expert in politeness): the more words there are in a sentence, the more polite it sounds (depending, of course, on the words). For example, in order of least polite to most, a muddle (non-ADDer) would prefer:
- Move
- Please move.
- Could you please move.
- Could you please move out of the way.
- I’m sorry, I cannot seem to get past you there; can you please move out of the way.
- I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but I cannot seem to get past you there; can you please move out of the way, so I don’t drop these heavy books?
I’ve found that my ADD makes me very utilitarian. I have no patience for anything that doesn’t get the job done, so this excess verbiage is not natural for me. But living in their world, I have to make accommodations.
REPORT ABUSE