HelloTo start with I'll tell how I managed to find you. I was searching through sites and came across your pictures and I thought that it is there is nothing wrong because people should get to know each other somehow, right?)
So I am Joetta and I hope you will promote my idea and tell me your name.) Since I was first to write I'll tell you something about myself. I'm pretty interesting girl and I'm a person who loves travelling so much that I'm even ready to keep on walking around the entire planet until that verymoment when I'll meet a man who I'd fall in love with and stay with him wherever he goes and whatever happens.
Yeah, you might think that it sounds more like a fairy tale, however I wish it is possible.) Alright, I love meeting new interesting people who may tell me lots of exciting live stories that really happened. So, what can you tell me about yourself? You are pretty, for sure)
What are u interesting in? I hope you won't ignore this message and you'd write me back.) I the perfect time to write me back is... maybe... tomorrow?)) I am really excited about your answer.
Please, write me back.
Talk to you later
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Dear. Mr. Hannah,
I was unable to add your XXX 3101 class for second session. Is there any extra space?
Jo
Oh... my...
ReplyDeleteMaybe one of your students moonlights as a fake mail-order bride?
Dear Jo,
ReplyDeleteI've been fantasizing about this for decades. You are my dream come true. I've already added you to the class. I want to marry you immediately. Oh, how I wish to passionately embrace you and give you and "A" in my class!
Your true love,
Hiram!
P.S. Do you have five dollars I can borrow?
So are you going to ignore it? I'd be tempted to reply to the first one with a "?????" But I would not do it. I guess the kind thing is to just pretend it never happened, LOL.
ReplyDeleteRespond to the first message with an answer to the second message.
ReplyDeleteShe's trouble, Hiram. T. R. O....
ReplyDeleteDon't respond to either message, especially not the first. Delete them both immediately: they're dangerous to have around. No one can prove you didn't hit the "delete" key accidentally.
I definitely agree that she is trouble in all caps, but I'm not so sure about the strategy of deleting the e-mails. My guess is that this student may be guilty of further escalations of flakiness. Wouldn't it be best to save these e-mails in case some sort of intervention from deans/other admins becomes necessary?
DeleteIt could be that this student's email has been hijacked. I have had a number of spam-like messages from student emails. They tend to click on everything and it opens up a nice little virus that starts sending out messages like this. Chances are she doesn't even realize this has happened.
ReplyDeleteOr she does and she's just going to be trouble. That would, of course, be much more fun!
Indeed, I fell victim to having my hotmail account hijacked. Individuals, including one of my deans, received embarrassing ads from my address. I had to send out a group email apologizing and explaining the situation. No harm was done, and everyone seemed understanding.
DeleteI'm pretty sure the correct response here, for both emails, is to ask for pics.
ReplyDeleteYep, someone's account was hijacked. Not her fault p<.05.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought, as well.
DeletePolitely tell her you noticed so you've covered both you and her, just in case.
Can't wait to read her end-of-the-term emails when she's trying to salvage her grade. C'mon, Hiram--take one for the team. Imagine the potential fodder for your summer posts and our entertainment!
ReplyDeleteI would respond. I would forward her both messages and ask her which one was meant for you. This way you give her a way to get out of this embarrassing situation by finding an excuse of some sort. Don't delete them, but have it on record that you were puzzled by them.
ReplyDeleteThis same thing happened to me my second or third year of grad school. I was single and so I signed up for a dating site. I got a raaaaawther explicit message from someone who included a picture. I recognized the person immediately as a student in one of the classes I TAed. My solution was to ignore the message and get the heck off of dating sites. After the initial "eww," it didn't really affect the way I treated the student, especially since there was -- mercifully -- absolutely no attraction on my part.
ReplyDeleteBut that was when I learned how very spicy a little pepper I could be.
I second the possible hijacked e-mail. The e-mail has little bits that make my spam-written-by-a-non-native-speaker sense tingle. Things like, "...I hope you will promote my idea..." and "...tell me lots of exciting live stories that really happened...". Unless the sender is actually not a native speaker. Did the reply-to approximately match the from? Were there links or other things (pics?). If it were otherwise totally innocuous, then I'd just be confused.
ReplyDeleteI would act similarly to the way I would to with an acquaintance, respond and suggest that the e-mail may have been meant for another, or if they didn't write it, they should check for a virus.
But I would respond, because I'd want someone else to let me know if I was sending out such e-mails.
Contacting the student to suggest that her email has been hijacked strikes me, too, as the wisest response: it puts you on the record as considering the first email entirely inappropriate, without blaming her for it. At the same time, you can express regret that your course is full and you'll be observing the posted limit.
ReplyDeleteTell her you can't let her into the class until she learns the proper use of parentheses.
ReplyDelete