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Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: MMMdude on October 14, 2016, 06:57:29 PM
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I always chuckle at my work when someone makes VP all of a sudden their business card changes in two ways. 1) they get a super fancy glossy one instead of the paper ones and 2) they immediately add their middle initial to their name on business card and email signature. So from John Smith to John O. Smith for example
Just another example of the BS at mega-corp we all have to deal with. This just sprung to my mind today when our newest VP was named.
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The hotshots where I work tend to over-initalize their names via email.
If this was from a Homer J. Simpson:
yes do this
thanks...hjs
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The worst are degrees, see this in gov a lot. Who gives a fuck about yer degree?
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Oh no!
I have been useing my middle initial sense I was 18. Will I need to get an additional middle name so I have a longer middle name
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The worst are degrees, see this in gov a lot. Who gives a fuck about yer degree?
The funniest/stupidest are the ones that add their security clearance as a qualification. Many of these folks never got a 4-year college degree, but list A+/Security+/Network+/CCNA/MCSA/MCSE/TS-SCI.
WTF
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Everyone knows that the number of letters on your business card directly correlates to your value as a human being. I get a kick of of the CPA,CA,MBA,CIA,CFB,ASS on business cards.
I work in an industry that is currently struggling quite badly. Since they will not increase compensation, they have taken to arbitrarily changing titles as a form of recognition. I requested that mine be changed to Probationary Junior Staff in Training but my request was denied.
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The hotshots where I work tend to over-initalize their names via email.
If this was from a Homer J. Simpson:
yes do this
thanks...hjs
Maybe this is a lawyer/law clerk thing, but this doesn't seem weird to me at all. At all my jobs, initials are used constantly in place of names. When I worked for courts/judges, I think this might trickle down from the fact that judges are often internally referred to by their initials (e.g. RBG for Ruth Bader Ginsburg). In any event, most internal documents (case lists, dockets, etc.) lists every person, even non-judges, by their initials, and basically everybody uses them to sign off emails. We even do it in verbal conversation. ("Did you see that AJK sent a memo about the Jones case to CMD?").
Perhaps this is a sign we all consider ourselves to be Very Important People, but when everybody's doing it, that effect is kind of lost in the noise.
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I have my middle initial in my email signature and on my business card; it's just a more formal way of writing my name. And we use initials all the time as shorthand for "ABC's office", and as a suffix on file names to show who made the last update; "File_10.15.16_ABC".
No arrogance or prestige implied or expected. I also do not have my degrees (MBA) after my name anywhere but on my resume (and possibly my LinkedIn profile).
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Aw man, I guess I did it wrong. When I made VP I kept with the cheap paper cards and same old first/last name. Too late to fix it now, I moved on from management and went technical track... :-)
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Hey bridget22 and chris, I hate to break it to you but most people think the middle initial thing is a useless WASPy tradition. All the non lawyers you work with roll their eyes at you behind your back. We aren't talking about internal systems but business cards and email signatures. I suppose if there's another Bobby Smith at your firm a middle initial would be helpful other than that it's just for show, no one cares what your middle name is.
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The funniest/stupidest are the ones that add their security clearance as a qualification. Many of these folks never got a 4-year college degree, but list A+/Security+/Network+/CCNA/MCSA/MCSE/TS-SCI.
WTF
truly WTF , a security classification should be ---secure---.
I remember when we were to put Badges-In-Pocket when offsite.
Did someone actually put TS-SCI (Top Secret-Special Compartmented Information) on a card or email? Or was that a bit of hyperbole? It would be like a big ad/target/calling card for the KGB(FSB).
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Everyone knows that the number of letters on your business card directly correlates to your value as a human being. I get a kick of of the CPA,CA,MBA,CIA,CFB,ASS on business cards.
I don't use my middle initial, but I have "EIT" after my name. I guess I must be pretentious or something.
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Everyone knows that the number of letters on your business card directly correlates to your value as a human being. I get a kick of of the CPA,CA,MBA,CIA,CFB,ASS on business cards.
My qualifications go before my name, and I use F. Middle LastName on my cards. I suspect I'm the most valuable human here!
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When I made my first ever resume I used my full name including middle name "Blue Cat House". When my sister reviewed it, she asked me how many other people might have similar names that I would need to identify myself so distinctly. So I dropped the Cat and just went by Blue House.
If I ever sign with initials or mark a paper with initials (documents with track changes, etc), I use three initials because I don't like the two initial set (think "fu", "bs", or something along those lines).
What I really dislike is when people identify themselves as George Smith IV. Or George Smith II. Ugh. I hate it!Junior / Senior exist only to avoid confusion between a father and son who are named identically. When one dies, the other drops the title.
III and IV exist when there are multiple living generations with the same name.
I, II, III, IV, V and so on exist for royalty because past monarchs are often referenced and to avoid confusion.
Also, you don't put the numbers on a birth certificate because it can change in a lifetime (when someone dies, you don't need to keep differentiating yourself unless you or the other person is famous).
Rules rulez!
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Everyone knows that the number of letters on your business card directly correlates to your value as a human being. I get a kick of of the CPA,CA,MBA,CIA,CFB,ASS on business cards.
My qualifications go before my name, and I use F. Middle LastName on my cards. I suspect I'm the most valuable human here!
Congratulations to you sir! The professional organization im part of added three letters to our designation. Free human value!
I didn't mean to be snarky in my original post. I see the value in putting designations if you're an external consultant. I was just poking fun at a certain subset of the 'business' crowd that is perpetually chasing designations and letters.
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I use my middle name in my email and written signatures because my father and I have the same name otherwise. The bit about using your Cisco certifications like a doctor would at the end of one's name drives me nuts though. Congratulations on having passed A+ and Security+. Those certs only took you a couple weeks and will expire eventually. I don't know if it's an "executive" thing, but I've always wondered why some people use an initial for their first name. "I've reached a point in my life/career where I'm not longer Ed. I'm now "E." Where does that come from?
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I go by my middle name, but my workplace uses first.last as emails. I include the initial to remind people where to hunt in their email address book.
Plus, my middle name is gender neutral, whereas my first name is very obviously feminine. I'm in the military. People constantly assume I'm a dude. I enjoy their faces, when I introduce myself IRL.
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I use First Maiden Last because I started my career before I got married and changed my name....I also add some letters after. Since I'm in a very technical engineering position, the PhD at the end is relevant, I think. Especially since as a woman in engineer, I'll take the credibility it lends. An antidote, perhaps, for the "you'd make a great secretary" type comments that come around sometimes.
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Woman lawyer here. I've always used First M. Last in professional settings. In my experience, it's rare for lawyers and executives not to. At least I don't include the Esq.! That suffix is how a lawyer signals their extreme pretentiousness/egomania, haha :-)
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Hey bridget22 and chris, I hate to break it to you but most people think the middle initial thing is a useless WASPy tradition. All the non lawyers you work with roll their eyes at you behind your back. We aren't talking about internal systems but business cards and email signatures. I suppose if there's another Bobby Smith at your firm a middle initial would be helpful other than that it's just for show, no one cares what your middle name is.
Maybe, but maybe they're used to it as a convention and don't really think too hard about it. There are a hell of a lot of business norms that aren't much more than WASPy traditions (suits? handshakes? the possibilities are endless). If you roll your eyes at all of them you won't have time for anything else.
Woman lawyer here. I've always used First M. Last in professional settings. In my experience, it's rare for lawyers and executives not to. At least I don't include the Esq.! That suffix is how a lawyer signals their extreme pretentiousness/egomania, haha :-)
Oh, the esquire. At least in my part of the world, it's almost exclusively used by lawyers who are unemployed or have crappy law jobs (contract doc review, etc.), and it reads as trying to borrow fanciness to mask insecurity. (To be fair, I graduated from law school after 2008 so I might just happen to know a lot of people in that category). See also people who say stuff like "well the D in J.D. stands for doctor, so *technically* I have a 'doctorate' degree and could insist that people call me Dr. Jones." (<--- actual facebook post by a classmate of mine who has never worked a day in her life as a lawyer).
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Woman lawyer here. I've always used First M. Last in professional settings. In my experience, it's rare for lawyers and executives not to. At least I don't include the Esq.! That suffix is how a lawyer signals their extreme pretentiousness/egomania, haha :-)
Oh, the esquire. At least in my part of the world, it's almost exclusively used by lawyers who are unemployed or have crappy law jobs (contract doc review, etc.), and it reads as trying to borrow fanciness to mask insecurity. (To be fair, I graduated from law school after 2008 so I might just happen to know a lot of people in that category). See also people who say stuff like "well the D in J.D. stands for doctor, so *technically* I have a 'doctorate' degree and could insist that people call me Dr. Jones." (<--- actual facebook post by a classmate of mine who has never worked a day in her life as a lawyer).
Haha, you're exactly right about the types who use "esquire"! Apropos your classmate: http://abovethelaw.com/2011/11/any-lawyer-who-calls-himself-doctor-like-a-ph-d-should-get-punched-in-the-mouth/
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The worst is Quebec with Maitre (Me). You do a 3 year civil law degree starting at 17 and get a silly title like that? Ridiculous . . .
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Hey bridget22 and chris, I hate to break it to you but most people think the middle initial thing is a useless WASPy tradition. All the non lawyers you work with roll their eyes at you behind your back. We aren't talking about internal systems but business cards and email signatures. I suppose if there's another Bobby Smith at your firm a middle initial would be helpful other than that it's just for show, no one cares what your middle name is.
I'm a useless New England WASP so I guess it fits. Whatever. I work in a relatively formal trade (corporate finance) for relative formal companies (F100-F500) so people expect some formality. I also use the long form of my name (Christopher) in my signed correspondence but sign my name as Chris. Whatever. Guarantee no one is ever thinking about this.
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I sign almost everything first initial fullstop middle name last name.
It's entirely because I think it sounds/looks more professional, and because I like the way it looks on the imaginary book covers in my head.
Regards,
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I sign almost everything first initial fullstop middle name last name.
It's entirely because I think it sounds/looks more professional, and because I like the way it looks on the imaginary book covers in my head.
Regards,
I always crack up when I see this because I do think it looks a bit pretentious or maybe it's because everyone I know who does this has been kind of snobby...no offense.
I have a traditionally male name so most blind correspondence usually refer to me as "Mr." On my resume, i throw in my maiden name, but most people assume it is a middle name. It is fun to see people's reactions after they meet me.
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I use my middle name in my email and written signatures because my father and I have the same name otherwise. The bit about using your Cisco certifications like a doctor would at the end of one's name drives me nuts though. Congratulations on having passed A+ and Security+. Those certs only took you a couple weeks and will expire eventually. I don't know if it's an "executive" thing, but I've always wondered why some people use an initial for their first name. "I've reached a point in my life/career where I'm not longer Ed. I'm now "E." Where does that come from?
We once had a VP who was pretty young and overly ambitious, yet very street-smart. He learned quickly that in our company if you institute a lot of programs you heard of by reading the Harvard Business Review, the higher-ups though you were a genius (because none of them read it). So he'd launch these new processes, procedures and programs and start to claim all sorts of improvements. Then in 3 years or so, he'd have already wangled another promotion - just in time for his successor in the old job to get left holding the bag for all the smoke and mirrors behind the phony improvements. When he got to be VP, he changed from using first-middle initial-last to first initial-middle name-last on all written correspondence.
First time I got a memo from J. Pinkerton Snoopington instead of James P. Snoopington (made up for this post) and ran into him in the hall, I played innocent and asked if his assistant fouled up his name on the memo as it took me a little time to figure out it wasn't from some new employee with the same last name.
His explanation: When you get to an executive position, tons of people want to get favors from you and even pretend they know you to pull it off. So you switch to using your first initial, so people who only know your name from something written can't pretend they really know you - they don't know your first name. Total BS of course, but he wanted to be a big shot so bad he did anything he thought would get him another step closer.
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Awesome never really thought this nonsense mattered so much.
I was in an extended management meeting with the head of our organization. All managers and executives. One of the lower level execs addressed the head by their first name. The head looked a little shocked by this and the exec played it smooth by saying everyone here is on a first name basis I'm sure you don't mind do you? Well how else could they respond except to say "of course that's fine".
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First time I got a memo from J. Pinkerton Snoopington instead of James P. Snoopington (made up for this post) and ran into him in the hall, I played innocent and asked if his assistant fouled up his name on the memo as it took me a little time to figure out it wasn't from some new employee with the same last name.
His explanation: When you get to an executive position, tons of people want to get favors from you and even pretend they know you to pull it off. So you switch to using your first initial, so people who only know your name from something written can't pretend they really know you - they don't know your first name. Total BS of course, but he wanted to be a big shot so bad he did anything he thought would get him another step closer.
He's never realised there is (for most large organisations) a staff directory on the intranet? Or the name auto populates comes up in the email "To" field or on lync?
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First time I got a memo from J. Pinkerton Snoopington instead of James P. Snoopington (made up for this post) and ran into him in the hall, I played innocent and asked if his assistant fouled up his name on the memo as it took me a little time to figure out it wasn't from some new employee with the same last name.
His explanation: When you get to an executive position, tons of people want to get favors from you and even pretend they know you to pull it off. So you switch to using your first initial, so people who only know your name from something written can't pretend they really know you - they don't know your first name. Total BS of course, but he wanted to be a big shot so bad he did anything he thought would get him another step closer.
He's never realised there is (for most large organisations) a staff directory on the intranet? Or the name auto populates comes up in the email "To" field or on lync?
Well, apparently he IS management material, so most likely he hasn't noticed that.
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Hey bridget22 and chris, I hate to break it to you but most people think the middle initial thing is a useless WASPy tradition. All the non lawyers you work with roll their eyes at you behind your back. We aren't talking about internal systems but business cards and email signatures. I suppose if there's another Bobby Smith at your firm a middle initial would be helpful other than that it's just for show, no one cares what your middle name is.
I hate to break it to you, but in my 14+ years working in DoD, on both a major military base and command, and in the commercial side building 'big toys for big boys', the middle initial is always in your email signature block. Your comment made me pulls out 2 employee handbooks; both specify you WILL use a middle initial unless you don't have a middle name.
And with a global email system, middle initials are very helpful. Even a 'Jay Patel' search results in 8.
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The funniest/stupidest are the ones that add their security clearance as a qualification. Many of these folks never got a 4-year college degree, but list A+/Security+/Network+/CCNA/MCSA/MCSE/TS-SCI.
WTF
truly WTF , a security classification should be ---secure---.
I remember when we were to put Badges-In-Pocket when offsite.
Did someone actually put TS-SCI (Top Secret-Special Compartmented Information) on a card or email? Or was that a bit of hyperbole? It would be like a big ad/target/calling card for the KGB(FSB).
It is on his email signature block.
Here, engineers and others with real degrees from traditional colleges and universities don't list their BSEE, MSCE, MBA, Ph.D, etc.
Those who went to online schools, for-profit institutions, list their degrees.
Those who are 'engineers' by certifications list bloody every certification. 50% of the time these chaps can't do work. Can't RTFM.
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It would be like a big ad/target/calling card for the KGB(FSB).
It is on his email signature block.
Gobsmacked, and I'm not even British.
While some people with Q (Top Secret, Nuclear Information) sometime could be seen downtown with badges visible, there were so many it probably didn't matter. Sort of like general stars at the Pentagon.
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I remember when we were to put Badges-In-Pocket when offsite.
This is still common practice but, it's mostly meant to avoid harassment while OCONUS. No one's really worried about getting kidnapped in NoVa.
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His explanation: When you get to an executive position, tons of people want to get favors from you and even pretend they know you to pull it off. So you switch to using your first initial, so people who only know your name from something written can't pretend they really know you - they don't know your first name. Total BS of course, but he wanted to be a big shot so bad he did anything he thought would get him another step closer.
Well, I actually do something similar when I fill out forms or when I purchase things over the internet. I use my two initials instead of my first/middle name. Then when someone calls and asks for B.O. instead of Blue, I know they don't know me and I sometimes can guess who sold my information. Oftentimes, by the time my contact information is resold, the periods are removed and my name then becomes "Bo" instead of "B.O." That one even confuses me at times!
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The worst are degrees, see this in gov a lot. Who gives a fuck about yer degree?
The funniest/stupidest are the ones that add their security clearance as a qualification. Many of these folks never got a 4-year college degree, but list A+/Security+/Network+/CCNA/MCSA/MCSE/TS-SCI.
WTF
Hey, I have a WTF degree, too!
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I use my middle name in my email and written signatures because my father and I have the same name otherwise. The bit about using your Cisco certifications like a doctor would at the end of one's name drives me nuts though. Congratulations on having passed A+ and Security+. Those certs only took you a couple weeks and will expire eventually. I don't know if it's an "executive" thing, but I've always wondered why some people use an initial for their first name. "I've reached a point in my life/career where I'm not longer Ed. I'm now "E." Where does that come from?
We once had a VP who was pretty young and overly ambitious, yet very street-smart. He learned quickly that in our company if you institute a lot of programs you heard of by reading the Harvard Business Review, the higher-ups though you were a genius (because none of them read it). So he'd launch these new processes, procedures and programs and start to claim all sorts of improvements. Then in 3 years or so, he'd have already wangled another promotion - just in time for his successor in the old job to get left holding the bag for all the smoke and mirrors behind the phony improvements. When he got to be VP, he changed from using first-middle initial-last to first initial-middle name-last on all written correspondence.
First time I got a memo from J. Pinkerton Snoopington instead of James P. Snoopington (made up for this post) and ran into him in the hall, I played innocent and asked if his assistant fouled up his name on the memo as it took me a little time to figure out it wasn't from some new employee with the same last name.
His explanation: When you get to an executive position, tons of people want to get favors from you and even pretend they know you to pull it off. So you switch to using your first initial, so people who only know your name from something written can't pretend they really know you - they don't know your first name. Total BS of course, but he wanted to be a big shot so bad he did anything he thought would get him another step closer.
Well, that's my strategy for signing up on sketchy websites that may sell contact lists..
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The worst are degrees, see this in gov a lot. Who gives a fuck about yer degree?
The funniest/stupidest are the ones that add their security clearance as a qualification. Many of these folks never got a 4-year college degree, but list A+/Security+/Network+/CCNA/MCSA/MCSE/TS-SCI.
WTF
Hey, I have a WTF degree, too!
To make it clear to y'all plebes, WTF is not a degree. It is an achievement level for your state of mind.
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I remember when we were to put Badges-In-Pocket when offsite.
This is still common practice but, it's mostly meant to avoid harassment while OCONUS. No one's really worried about getting kidnapped in NoVa.
In the places I've worked the concern was someone trying to copy the ID by getting a good look at it. It's less of a danger now that those IDs double as RF enabled access badges, but it's good policy regardless.
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My parents messed up on my birth certificate, so my middle name is literally the letter C. No middle initials necessary for me!
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My parents messed up on my birth certificate, so my middle name is literally the letter C. No middle initials necessary for me!
That's funny. Whoever was responsible for my granddad's birth certificate messed his up too. (He was born in a log cabin in South Georgia, so it wasn't the hospital). His middle name was supposed to be "J". Just "J". Then they were going to give their next kid the middle name "Hue". The reason being, my great-granddad's name was "Jehu" (pronounced JAY-hue). But whoever filled out the birth certificate assumed the "J" was an initial, not a name, so his middle name ended up being "Jehu" on the birth certificate. They never fixed it, but their next son got the middle name "Hue" anyway.
My brother and his son now have the middle name "Jehu" as well, but those were intentional.
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The worst are degrees, see this in gov a lot. Who gives a fuck about yer degree?
The funniest/stupidest are the ones that add their security clearance as a qualification. Many of these folks never got a 4-year college degree, but list A+/Security+/Network+/CCNA/MCSA/MCSE/TS-SCI.
WTF
Hey, I have a WTF degree, too!
To make it clear to y'all plebes, WTF is not a degree. It is an achievement level for your state of mind.
Oh, I got it. Describes my mind somedays, too.
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I always crack up when I see this because I do think it looks a bit pretentious or maybe it's because everyone I know who does this has been kind of snobby...no offense.
I have a traditionally male name so most blind correspondence usually refer to me as "Mr." On my resume, i throw in my maiden name, but most people assume it is a middle name. It is fun to see people's reactions after they meet me.
Totally agree! It looks tremendously pretentious - doubly so because I have an obnoxiously long last name, so it rolls off the tongue or page with snobbery inherent, even if I didn't intend it - but, I don't mind. Full name situations often carry some level of pretension - no one uses your full name in casual settings.
Regards,
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I always crack up when I see this because I do think it looks a bit pretentious or maybe it's because everyone I know who does this has been kind of snobby...no offense.
I have a traditionally male name so most blind correspondence usually refer to me as "Mr." On my resume, i throw in my maiden name, but most people assume it is a middle name. It is fun to see people's reactions after they meet me.
Totally agree! It looks tremendously pretentious - doubly so because I have an obnoxiously long last name, so it rolls off the tongue or page with snobbery inherent, even if I didn't intend it - but, I don't mind. Full name situations often carry some level of pretension - no one uses your full name in casual settings.
Regards,
Wait a sec -- we're talking about someone's formal business email signature block, not just casual use of their name. On my letterhead and in the business signature block, it has my middle initial, but I absolutely would not expect other people to actually address me that way and I manually sign my emails with my first name only. Within my office, going all the way up to the senior execs, and with clients and opposing counsel, we call each other by first name alone. I think it's quite common in professional settings for people to address each other by first names, while keeping the more formal name for envelopes, business cards, on court documents, etc.
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Wait a sec -- we're talking about someone's formal business email signature block, not just casual use of their name. On my letterhead and in the business signature block, it has my middle initial, but I absolutely would not expect other people to actually address me that way and I manually sign my emails with my first name only. Within my office, going all the way up to the senior execs, and with clients and opposing counsel, we call each other by first name alone. I think it's quite common in professional settings for people to address each other by first names, while keeping the more formal name for envelopes, business cards, on court documents, etc.
I know - which is why it's amusing to see people signature blocks on even informal intranet emails. A tiny message that says 'Ok, Canaduh.' followed by three lines of self aggrandisement. It sure does look threatening on a legal letterhead and quite grown up on a business card, but it's still hard not to look at 'J. John Smith' and think of 'C. Thomas Flood' - whose 'C' stood for nothing, but he felt made him seem more legitimate as a writer.
I've never been in a position where reading the signature block was a valid use of my time, since the email or envelope usually tells me where or whom something originated from, so it's rare enough for me to bother - but I find it hard to take someone serious when the end of their missive makes me snicker a bit.
Regards,
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*snip*
What I really dislike is when people identify themselves as George Smith IV. Or George Smith II. Ugh. I hate it!Junior / Senior exist only to avoid confusion between a father and son who are named identically. When one dies, the other drops the title.
III and IV exist when there are multiple living generations with the same name.
I, II, III, IV, V and so on exist for royalty because past monarchs are often referenced and to avoid confusion.
Also, you don't put the numbers on a birth certificate because it can change in a lifetime (when someone dies, you don't need to keep differentiating yourself unless you or the other person is famous).
Rules rulez!
Well, my family puts the numbers on birth certificates, mostly because we have historically been bad with people names (*sigh*). Also, it does make things easier when mapping out the family tree if you have some way to identify the various John Q. Doe family members by something other than birth year.
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The worst are degrees, see this in gov a lot. Who gives a fuck about yer degree?
OMG, I work in the public sector and this is rampant. When I actually worked in my field of study, no one ever cared about my degree, but in the public sector, everyone has it in their emails, business cards etc., and I am frequently quizzed on my credentials. So stupid. I always get a chuckle out of the admins who have a B.A. behind their names - do you really want to advertise that you went to university for 4 years to answer phones and book conference rooms?
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I know - which is why it's amusing to see people signature blocks on even informal intranet emails. A tiny message that says 'Ok, Canaduh.' followed by three lines of self aggrandisement.
I'm a contractor and I am required to have an email signature block that lists my name as it shows up in the online locator, it must identify that I am a contractor and the company I work for.
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Wait a sec -- we're talking about someone's formal business email signature block, not just casual use of their name. On my letterhead and in the business signature block, it has my middle initial, but I absolutely would not expect other people to actually address me that way and I manually sign my emails with my first name only. Within my office, going all the way up to the senior execs, and with clients and opposing counsel, we call each other by first name alone. I think it's quite common in professional settings for people to address each other by first names, while keeping the more formal name for envelopes, business cards, on court documents, etc.
I know - which is why it's amusing to see people signature blocks on even informal intranet emails. A tiny message that says 'Ok, Canaduh.' followed by three lines of self aggrandisement. It sure does look threatening on a legal letterhead and quite grown up on a business card, but it's still hard not to look at 'J. John Smith' and think of 'C. Thomas Flood' - whose 'C' stood for nothing, but he felt made him seem more legitimate as a writer.
I've never been in a position where reading the signature block was a valid use of my time, since the email or envelope usually tells me where or whom something originated from, so it's rare enough for me to bother - but I find it hard to take someone serious when the end of their missive makes me snicker a bit.
Regards,
My signature block autopopulates on al emails I originate. I use a standard template provided by the company. Is it needless? I dunno, I guess maybe, but who cares? I never ever thought there was anything pretentious about using a formal name for formal communication.
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Perhaps people are looking to be offended?
I do appreciate seeing certain initials when I deal with regulatory matters. For instance, whether someone is a DAR or DER matters very much!
I've not yet run into anybody listing actual educational degrees so maybe its a certain industry thing.
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I don't use my middle initial, but I have "EIT" after my name. I guess I must be pretentious or something.
I never did use that one. Didn't like the inference that I was still 'training'. Sometime after, I think IE became more vogue.
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I have always used First M. Last on my cards. I also list two very relevant professional credentials. Then my title.
My card has been like this from peon, sr. peon, manager, director and VP.
I do NOT put MBA on my card, as I think that looks dumb. I do have it in my LinkedIn profile though. Guess I'm pretentious. ;)
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Wait a sec -- we're talking about someone's formal business email signature block, not just casual use of their name. On my letterhead and in the business signature block, it has my middle initial, but I absolutely would not expect other people to actually address me that way and I manually sign my emails with my first name only. Within my office, going all the way up to the senior execs, and with clients and opposing counsel, we call each other by first name alone. I think it's quite common in professional settings for people to address each other by first names, while keeping the more formal name for envelopes, business cards, on court documents, etc.
I know - which is why it's amusing to see people signature blocks on even informal intranet emails. A tiny message that says 'Ok, Canaduh.' followed by three lines of self aggrandisement. It sure does look threatening on a legal letterhead and quite grown up on a business card, but it's still hard not to look at 'J. John Smith' and think of 'C. Thomas Flood' - whose 'C' stood for nothing, but he felt made him seem more legitimate as a writer.
I've never been in a position where reading the signature block was a valid use of my time, since the email or envelope usually tells me where or whom something originated from, so it's rare enough for me to bother - but I find it hard to take someone serious when the end of their missive makes me snicker a bit.
Regards,
My signature block autopopulates on al emails I originate. I use a standard template provided by the company. Is it needless? I dunno, I guess maybe, but who cares? I never ever thought there was anything pretentious about using a formal name for formal communication.
Exactly. This is just the industry/professional norm and our employer's expectation. If someone wants to laugh at the culture and not be a part of it, that's cool; I don't really care.
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So stupid. I always get a chuckle out of the admins who have a B.A. behind their names - do you really want to advertise that you went to university for 4 years to answer phones and book conference rooms?
+1
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Wait a sec -- we're talking about someone's formal business email signature block, not just casual use of their name. On my letterhead and in the business signature block, it has my middle initial, but I absolutely would not expect other people to actually address me that way and I manually sign my emails with my first name only. Within my office, going all the way up to the senior execs, and with clients and opposing counsel, we call each other by first name alone. I think it's quite common in professional settings for people to address each other by first names, while keeping the more formal name for envelopes, business cards, on court documents, etc.
I know - which is why it's amusing to see people signature blocks on even informal intranet emails. A tiny message that says 'Ok, Canaduh.' followed by three lines of self aggrandisement. It sure does look threatening on a legal letterhead and quite grown up on a business card, but it's still hard not to look at 'J. John Smith' and think of 'C. Thomas Flood' - whose 'C' stood for nothing, but he felt made him seem more legitimate as a writer.
I've never been in a position where reading the signature block was a valid use of my time, since the email or envelope usually tells me where or whom something originated from, so it's rare enough for me to bother - but I find it hard to take someone serious when the end of their missive makes me snicker a bit.
Regards,
My signature block autopopulates on al emails I originate. I use a standard template provided by the company. Is it needless? I dunno, I guess maybe, but who cares? I never ever thought there was anything pretentious about using a formal name for formal communication.
Exactly. This is just the industry/professional norm and our employer's expectation. If someone wants to laugh at the culture and not be a part of it, that's cool; I don't really care.
Ditto. It's expected of us to fill out a signature block with minimally our name, company, address, main line phone number, and email. I threw in my direct line for good measure. I'm not sure if there's even a way to not have the sig block come up when you're emailing someone internally (unless you're manually deleting it, which just seems more work than it's worth). I know there's an option to have it turn off if you're replying to an email, but I've spent enough time digging around through email chains looking for contact information to realize it's not worth it.
Internally we use initials quite often. The general rule of thumb is, if you're the first the unique set of initials, you get to use just the two. If there's someone already in the company with your initials, you're stuck adding in your middle initial. I'm the second one with my initials, so my middle was thrown in my signature block so coworkers would know it.
If you're outside this system and want something to laugh at, I guess go ahead. But there are a lot worse/better things to laugh at than using initials.
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So stupid. I always get a chuckle out of the admins who have a B.A. behind their names - do you really want to advertise that you went to university for 4 years to answer phones and book conference rooms?
+1
Admins generally do much more than that, but please continue with your condescension because it's so appealing.
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So stupid. I always get a chuckle out of the admins who have a B.A. behind their names - do you really want to advertise that you went to university for 4 years to answer phones and book conference rooms?
+1
Admins generally do much more than that, but please continue with your condescension because it's so appealing.
We found the admin!
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So stupid. I always get a chuckle out of the admins who have a B.A. behind their names - do you really want to advertise that you went to university for 4 years to answer phones and book conference rooms?
+1
Admins generally do much more than that, but please continue with your condescension because it's so appealing.
The "admins" at my work typically have a title that reflects their actual job (communications, office leader, exec assistant, reception), so the very few "admins" left are actually just admin.
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I don't use my middle initial, but I have "EIT" after my name. I guess I must be pretentious or something.
I never did use that one. Didn't like the inference that I was still 'training'. Sometime after, I think IE became more vogue.
An EIT isn't legally responsible for their work or opinions in my area. Putting EIT lets you off the hook if you give bad advice. Where I'm from if an EIT is pretending to be more than that its against the code of conduct, impersonating an Engineer. Everyone's a trainee at some point, only the pretentious ones find it embarrassing; no insult intended but most people don't care other than the EIT in question.
In some cases its a legal responsibility to put your titles; or to leave them off. I have a couple designations that I put on some emails when its formal and leave off when its an informal discussion (i.e. in the getting to understand part of a conversation). If its on an email I'm advertising my legal responsibility; its a shorthand way of saying I follow the law of the land.
As for initials, I include mine on government forms since there's a doppelganger out there with my name; crossed paths once on some government forms that required clearing up (it required a few calls, it was more hassle than including a single letter). My brother had his credit score lowered when a creditor assigned him someone else's debt; it was purely a same name problem.
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I'm in healthcare - physicians generally have their name, if you're a trainee of some types, and department. If you're the chair of a department, that'll be thrown in. If you are in charge of something relevant to patient care then that may be included. Otherwise no one cares about the titles or degrees. Much different than the business world.
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Yeah I've not seen much of it here, and no-one here uses numbers in their name (it's rare enough that they'll use Snr/Jnr).
My name is in my email signature as first name last name. That's pretty standard for most people in most places I've worked at, unless they've got a common name and they need to distinguish it from someone else.
I think if someone tried on 'first initial, middle name, surname' in Australia, they'd get laughed at. It's more than a bit pretentious.