Mixed Signals · No. 9
What does “are we good?” mean?
From Robin, a friend, the day after you canceled dinner at the last minute
are we good?
It could mean
- Worried they did something wrong
- Upset with you about dinner
- Checking in, and fine either way
What was going on
Robin wasn’t upset about dinner at all. They were worried they’d done something to make you cancel.
This message and its story are made up. Real messages don’t come with the story.Ask before you answer
Text loses tone, so a short message can read harsher, or softer, than it was meant. Before you answer, ask what they meant. That’s Check before assuming, one of the principles Porcupine is built on.
What research says
In three experiments, people writing and reading emails felt sure they’d gotten the emotion right, but they were wrong more often than they thought. Writers expected friends to read them better than strangers would, but friends were no more accurate.
Got a real text like this? Run a Quills Check.
Paste it. I’ll show you a few ways it could be read, and what you could ask instead of guessing. Writing your own? Switch to “I’m sending it” and I’ll show you if the quills are up.
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Find the words with Porcupine
The Quills Check helps with one text. Porcupine helps with the whole conversation, from what you ask through their reply. It’s coming soon, and we’ll let you know when it’s ready.
Every message and story in Mixed Signals is made up.