Came in the middle of an interesting thread about a weird/bad communication that a lack of response created.

Like it or not, not responding to emails is a response in itself. The response can range from “aw snap, I couldn’t get their attention” to, apparently, extreme disappointment and anger and inventing a whole years-long narrative about the terribleness of you. Now, if someone has that whack of a take on a cold-call email you didn’t respond to, perhaps it’s best the connection was never made in the first place.

John Scalzi has a pretty intense page to set the stage for his inbox:

Pestering me about not immediately answering your e-mail will piss me off. It will make me less likely to respond, and if I do respond, you probably won’t like it.