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Communication methods & response time

2017-02-18T15:07:00.000Z.

Changelog:

• 2019-12-31T05:52:24.042Z: Added background information.

Many years ago I had this conversation in the office with one of my colleagues:

Me: (Working on the codes of a project.)

Colleague: (Yelling not far away) Hey, Alex.

Me: ?

Colleague: Check your Slack!

Me: Oh, sorry. I didn't notice...

Colleague: You should always keep an eye on the Slack channels.

How can I focus on the codes if I have to keep an eye on the private messages or public announcements that can popup any time? That's the main reason I don't allow notifications from Slack!

A few years later, I had this conversation with my friend on LINE:

Friend: (Sent me a question.)

Me: (Reading, and thinking how to respond.)

Friend: (Few seconds later) Please respond. Don't make me wait.

Me: Wait a moment, I was typing my response!

Friend: 😒

Did my friend expect me to hit the Send button for every word I have typed?

Seriously, in my opinion, expecting on-time response when using non-real time communication methods does not make any sense.

I personally recognize the following real-time communication methods:

• Face-to-face communication
• Telephone call
• Videotelephony

Other methods are recognized as non-real time communication methods, including, but not limited to:

• Short Message Service (SMS)
• Voicemail
• Postal mail
• Electronic mail (Email)
• Instant messaging (IM):
  • Facebook Messenger
  • ICQ
  • LINE
  • Skype text-based messaging
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp

Also:

• When on-time or immediate response is expected, real-time communication method(s) MUST be used.
• On-time or immediate response MUST NOT be expected when using non-real time communication method(s).
• When using non-real time communication method(s), response is OPTIONAL.

The last point is a fact. Non-real time communication methods do not guarantee the message is delivered successfully and read by the recipient.