‘You may not... use this message for any purpose... or take any action based on [it].’
You are an academic administrator needing to send out a largely pointless1 Training Needs Analysis form to research students and tell them where to submit it. Do you:
(a) attach it to the notification e-mail, with submission instructions in the body of the e-mail?
(b) attach to the notification e-mail an eight-page PDF giving instructions for download and submission which tell people to log into an intranet site and navigate to a sub-page in order to obtain the form?
Perhaps a hint about the state of mind behind this business is indicated by the e-mail footer (highlights mine):
P It takes 24 trees to produce 1 ton of paper!
Think… is it really necessary to print this email?
---------------------------------
CONFIDENTIALITY:
This message (and any files transmitted as attachments) should be handled confidentially. If you are not the intended recipient please notify me immediately and delete the message.
You may not copy or use this message for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person or take any action based on them. E-Mails are susceptible to interference. If you are in any doubt, please verify the authenticity of the contents with the sender.
---------------------------------
1 Possibly other disciplines with different needs find it helpful, but we in Philosophy never have.
The exercise will probably gain the university points towards something.
ReplyDeleteProbably, but I wonder whether the awarded points will be announced with a disclaimer forbidding them to be used for anything.
ReplyDeleteProbably not. This is clearly an absurd confidentiality statement. A blanket ban on ANY action negates ANY purpose of sending the email: this must be a new world record in something! Presumably your only response can be none? Assuming, of course, that the sender has the legal right to enforce the demands.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, it would be nice to hear from you on how things are at Durham. My old email is still on the blog. Amanda looks busy from her web page. So does the musician / ethicist / video director Duncan.