How to explain the use of all caps?

[wendelenn]

I have a different perspective.

Does she possibly have any kind of visual disability that would make it difficult to read normal text?  I ask this, because I was once a "community volunteer" for an online service, and one thing that we had drilled into us is that even though Netiquette states that ALL CAPS is wrong, some people have difficulty reading it otherwise.

If that doesn't apply, then all bets are off, of course.

Most of my friends who are visually impaired say all caps makes comprehension WORSE.  They say they still want the contrast between upper and lower case letters.  (They usually use screen enlargement software to make the print on their computers as big as they want it.)

[TootsNYC]

Send her e-mails back to her with a note that says,

"I'm having trouble reading this; the all caps are making it all just run together. Would you send it back to me in caps & lower case? I'd really appreciate it."

[Diane AKA Traska]

I'm just relaying what I was told professionally.  =)

Not that I buy it, of course.  To me though, all lowercase is almost as bad.  Especially (and yes, this is really nitpicky of me) when the word "I" is not capitalized.

[Nurvingiel]

Send her e-mails back to her with a note that says,

"I'm having trouble reading this; the all caps are making it all just run together. Would you send it back to me in caps & lower case? I'd really appreciate it."

I like this.

Do it to every single all-caps email.

[Bookgirl]

I see this a lot on Etsy.  Listings in all caps.  It's extremely annoying and I pass by that item without a second look.  To me, typing in all caps looks lazy. 

I mentioned it to a new team member when I saw that her listings were in all caps.  She said that she did it that way to make it easier for old people like her to read.  I explained that it was considered yelling and that it would most likely turn off any potential buyers.  She changed her listings. 

[wheeitsme]

If she wouldn't write a letter (snail mail) or memo in all caps, she shouldn't write an email in all caps.

It's still a business communication.

[attyjen]

Well, we have a partial resolution.  I had an accountant that we work with frequently say something to the partners.  She now only puts the subject line in all caps.  Small victories.

Now about those e-mail stationery/wallpapers . . . .

[WhiteTigerCub]

Is it possible to put a restrictive spell checker on the e-mail? Perhaps IT could have it set that it tells her a word is misspelled if it is in all caps?

I know it would be awful annoying for me to have spell checker pick up every.single.word as a mispell when I am sending out e-mails. 

[Nurvingiel]

Well, we have a partial resolution.  I had an accountant that we work with frequently say something to the partners.  She now only puts the subject line in all caps.  Small victories.

Now about those e-mail stationery/wallpapers . . . .

.....

...

*massages temples*

I'm just boggled that someone with such awful email etiquette survives in a professional environment.

[aiki]

Well, we have a partial resolution.  I had an accountant that we work with frequently say something to the partners.  She now only puts the subject line in all caps.  Small victories.

Now about those e-mail stationery/wallpapers . . . .

Time for an office stylebook, perhaps...

[BeagleMommy]

This is what the email section of the Gregg Reference Manual states:

"Do not use all capital letters in your messages. (This practice is considered to be the equivalent of shouting.)  Follow the standard rules of capitalization."

The Gregg Manual is the secretary's bible when it comes to business correspondence.  Perhaps this woman needs one.

[Calypso]

I'm curious about the "it's easier for old people/people with poor vision to see all caps" argument. I know in my sweetie's case (both older and with very poor vision) all-caps is terrible because, as a PP said, it takes away many of the visual cues he needs to differentiate letters from one another.

On the other hand, some of the all-caps submissions I get are definitely from older people. *Is* it easier for some people to see a text in all-caps? Hard for me to believe---I'd rather use the "View--Zoom in" utility any day (and do).

[Suze]

It could be that those "older people" forget that there are zoom features on the machine

so they type in all caps cause it is "bigger"

Heck I had an old typewriter that had the sign for cents and 1/2 and 1/4 key on it and I still look for them....

[Bees]

She should not be communicating directly with clients.

Have her create  any correspondence in Word and have her send it to you to be edited. That should clear up the problem fairly quickly.

[nrb80]

Unfortunately, none of the client complaints have been in writing.  My next goal is to try to get one in writing to pass along.  Since posting this, I've talked with a couple of the other associates who have the same issue and they're going to try to get something in writing as well.  If we go to the partners with enough, maybe one of them will lay down the law.

I also like the idea of simply rejecting any e-mail that is in all caps.

I have flat out told her not to do it.  Unfortunately, the inusbordination issue here is huge and I'm more or less stuck with it.  The partners somehow think that she's irreplaceable and the only associates she seems to have a problem with are the females.

The passive aggressive evil me wants to start sending all of my messages to her in all caps.

NRB80's Rule No. 1 of being an associate - responsibility without authority.  It sucks.  I had some issues trying to get my secretary to work *for* me.  And do things my way.  Because, ultimately, it's my license to practice, not hers.  Of course, the partner has worked with her for 20 years so woe be it to any associate that gives her a negative review...

As to a comment later in the thread about secretary's sending emails - many clients do not like to see billing timekeepers (attorneys, paralegals, etc) forwarding documents, filings, etc. because they assume it ends up on the bills.  My secretary is empowered to send emails with filings, documents from the other side, etc. along with a message to clients.  However, I am lucky enough that my secretary does this well.