some people react explosively to tiny things.

some people clam up when they should tell you what’s wrong.

some people try to push you around.

some people are useful.

some people are totally awesome.

tone is really important when you’re communicating.

especially in a type of chat environment where facial expressions and such are not part of the transmissions mix.

notes should convey mood.

like emoticons.

Most obvious are verbal and written. But both of these methods have subtler tools involved. Conversations are colored by tones of voice and non-verbal posturing and signals. Even written communications (and this site is a great place to see it) is shaped by fonts, punctuation and `Emotes` (This is nothing new. Take a look at newspapers of the civil war era).

I have a coworker who fills her memos with upper case letters and exclamation points. She writes as she speaks, always shouting. She shouts so much, nobody can tell when she is saying something important.

I’m good at that. ;)

(...to the chagrin of my friends.)