How would you break off a fledging e-pal relationship?

[KansDem]

Poll question: How would you break off a fledging e-pal relationship?

Let's say you go to a reunion and meet-up with someone you haven't seen in a couple of decades. You were pals once. You and he/she have a nice visit and exchange business cards. Then an email arrives a few weeks later that describes what your pal did after leaving the reunion (nice, innocent message describing his/her trip after the reunion). Then you email him/her with a short, friendly open-ended email indicating you'll followup with another, longer email soon. Then, for whatever reason, you decide you don't want to pursue this e-pal relationship, even after he/she follows up your email with a nice, friendly email wishing you happy holidays. So here's what transpired: He/She emailed you, you replied, then he/she replied to your reply.

What do you do to end this?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear KansDem...

I voted for the first option...

This happened to me...

An email buddy told me that s/he didn't want to correspond any more...

And then s/he changed servers and I couldn't get through...

It was tough, to say the least...

Good luck!


:hi:

[KansDem]

2. Thanks!

:hi:

on edit: Incidentally, I grew up in Long Beach!

[qb]

3. Honesty may hurt...

but being ignored, wondering WTF hurts worse.

[KansDem]

4. Tell me about it!

All kinds of things run through a person's mind...:shrug:

[LeftyMom]

5. Come up with a polite fiction.

"I'll be traveling for a while and won't be able to access my email regularly." or something along those lines.

No sense hurting somebody's feelings if you don't have to.

[Debi]

6. So THAT'S why you didn't respond

x(

I'd opt for 'too busy too much going on to email back and forth' if that's the reason. Why be mean if you don't have to?

[redqueen]

7. Eh, they'd have to piss me off somehow

for me to want to give someone the brushoff.

[KansDem]

9. That's just it...I don't know what I say or did that offended...

I just keep wondering what happened? :shrug:

[redqueen]

10. People who just disappear piss me off.

:P

Seriously though... I might ask them what the deal is, are they getting my messages, did I say something wrong... but if people treat me that way I just ignore them back. Makes life easier. Sorry you're going through this.

:pals:

[FloridaJudy]

8. Of course, if he or she

Keeps forwarding right-wing garbage, all bets are off. I had a "friend" who did this. For a while, I'd politely return the message with a link to Snopes debunking it, but after a few dozen incidents of this nature, I sent another politely worded message that could be summed up as "Fuck off!".

And when I changed e-mail addresses, I did not let her know the new one.

[KansDem]

11. I would find that irritating as well...

But since we only exchanged a couple of emails, I really didn't have time to annoy anyone...

[datasuspect]

12. i've never turned someone down who reached out to me in kindness

so it's hard for me to say.

if i got the sense that they were sheisty, i'd be leery and keep it minimal or drop them if they fucked me around, but in fledgling communication where there aren't any problems and they aren't an obvious psychopath, i would really need a reason to rebuff general greetings and pleasantries.

seems like a low investment communication in fact.