On The Subtle Art Of Getting In Touch

The best way to contact me (e.g., to send feedback about something you have read here) is via email—although you should definitely be aware that for me,

Or in pictorial form:

Yes, that is right: emails sent to me must resemble more a letter—the kind you wrote on dead tree paper, and sent via postal (snail) mail—and less a chat message!! In fact, I am most happy when the body of the email just states that you want to communicate to me something about some subject, and tells me to check the PDF attachment, which consists of a proper letter you have written, about said subject—doing otherwise significantly decreases the chances of me reading—and even more, of replying—to your email. There are (very) few exceptions to this—the most common of which, is notifying me of typos in my writings.

To say it in another manner, if you can’t be bothered to really think about what is it that you want to say to me, and write it down in a clear and proper fashion, then I can’t be bothered to read it. And if you’re wondering why do I think this is a marvellous idea—well, I will answer that for you, in a (you’ve guessed it) letter.¹

Now, while I do like receiving thoughtful and interesting letters—I am only (one) human. Hence, the sad truth is that even if you send me something interesting and thoughtful and well written, it might still take a while for me to reply—if I reply at all. Accordingly, scriptor caveat.² That being said, if you still intend to email me, then the last thing you need to know is that I strongly dislike HTML email and attachments in proprietary formats—especially Microsoft’s Word and PowerPoint!!³ Sending me such things pretty much guarantees I will silently discard your email!

With that said, here is my email address: oscar @ domain dot tld.

Beyond email

I am also on github, where some of the software I develop is hosted,⁴ and on occasion, I also put some videos up on youtube.⁵ Other attempts to find me on “social media” are, I’m afraid, futile. And while on that topic… Edward Snowden put it best:

Businesses that make money by collecting and selling detailed records of private lives were once plainly described as “surveillance companies.” Their rebranding as “social media” is the most successful deception since the Department of War became the Department of Defense.⁶

Although the Trump/Hegseth duo do seem intent on bringing back the old nomenclature—apparently, “Defense” is “too woke”⁷—so who knows? Maybe they’ll wake up one day and decide that “social media” is also “too woke”…