I was interviewed recently on my view in regard to the use of the acronym NSFW. Apparently some felt that an acronym noting “Not Safe For Work”, is necessary when sending e-mail to those they knew were at work to warn them that the content or links contained within were of a questionable nature and not proper for the work environment.
What? “Not Safe For Work” but we’re sending to a work e-mail address anyway? What am I missing here?
My reaction was there is no need for such an acronym! By virtue of having to type it should tell any astute person that they should have enough common sense and respect to not send e-mails with questionable content to someone’s work e-mail. If you find yourself typing NSFW then DSTW (Don’t Send To Work)!
And, to those who have others sending you e-mails that need this acronym noted to warn you, you should be a responsible employee and tell the Sender to no longer use your business e-mail address for anything not business related. At that time you can also provide your personal e-mail address for e-mails of that nature.
Don’t have a personal e-mail? Go get one at Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo — there is an excess of free e-mail account providers. There is no excuse to be using your work e-mail address for anything other than work related communications. Period.
It amazes me in this day and age how we spend so much time creating ways to justify things we know we shouldn’t be doing in the first place. Using company e-mail for anything other than company business should include this acronym: IUE (Irresponsible Unreliable Employee).
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I agree! It is rather silly that you’d need to use that acronym because my first thought was “Why would you be sending something like that to somebody else’s WORK address?”
Where an ‘NSFW’ might come in handy is on forums where people post all sorts of things and the title of the thread might not be as clear as possible. Having an NSFW can be useful (hee, hee, this is when I access forums during my lunch break, naturally!).
Hey, Jummy!
Good to hear from you again!
That is a great idea to use that acronym on forums to warn folks about content they’ve found that is linked to.
It could also be used on discussion lists or anywhere online where you want to let folks know about questionable content they probably should not view while on company time.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hello, Judith -
Another thought: Many folks visit their personal e-mail accounts during the day whilst sitting at their desk. I’ve been known to (occasionally) open my G-mail inbox in a separate browser window and “peek” to read personal messages. In those cases, it’s helpful to know that there’s something I shouldn’t open for all to see.
Of course, my life is so boring that I don’t even get NSFW messages.
Great post, as usual!
Hey, Susan:
Good point! I can see where NSFW would come in handy in the situation you describe. Thanks for your perspective and kind words!