There seems to be a growing trend to eliminate humor in my office. The sense is that if lawyers ever did discovery on our e-mails that jokes would be viewed as us not taking our work seriously.
Is it this way in your office?
Not in my office. Being the only one here, I joke with myself all the time…the only problem is that I don’t understand most of them… 
first flirting goes away, now jokes. what’s the point of going to work?
I think that means you tell jokes around the coffee machine instead of sending them as emails. – sort of the “old way” of transmitting them.
Anne,
I agree, and jokes work better in person anyway. Immediately you can tell if you have embarassed yourself, your immediate listener, or everyone in the whole room -grin!
Email has no such automatic feedback.
William
Although I would agree that the situation described by anonymous is going a bit far, having personally been subjected to a legal process in which ALL documents, including email, were open and available to opposing legal counsel, and then seeing how opposing counsel grossly distorted the meaning of even the most innocent of exchanges, I am fearful of putting anything in writing. Interestingly, though, my legal counsel still advises me to put EVERYTHING in writing, but try to avoid saying anything.
“…put everything in writing, but try to avoid saying anything.” - sounds like a Dilbert cartoon!
I think that so long as the jokes are not racist, sexist, or directly insulting to someone in the office, why not send the occasional joke around? What next? Ban laughing?
What does a sense of humor have to do with anything anyway? I have known some very serious people who were incompetent. I have known some very jovial people who were highly competent. I don’t see a correlation.
For the longest time one of our CA people had a rubber chicken dangling from a noose over his desk. It’s a long story.
Unfortunately we had to let him go because The American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA) complained that they were being unfairly targeted and ridiculed. 
WHO?
The chicken or the guy?
Oops, sorry-- office humor!!!
In our office, in various cublicles, we have a rubber chicken, a stuffed fish, odd slogans, a Mr. Peabody (mine), a couple of super heroes, lots of Big Ass Fans “donkeys” and many other personal, funny items and pictures. We regularly email jokes and cartoons, and post them on the bulletin boards in the break rooms. We try to be circumspect and respect everyone’s sensitivities, but we also try to have fun! We put in long hours quite often, and laughter is a good release of tension and frustration.
Wiser people than I have realized the value of laughter and humor: Jokes of the proper kind, properly told, can do more to enlighten questions of politics, philosophy, and literature than any number of dull arguments. - Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-92)
Sending and/or forwarding of jokes is against company policy, for obvious reasons. Any attorney would have a field day in court reading your joke e-mails out loud to the jury.
Well then they will have to bust my office for illegal gambling operation as well. We have a voluntary bid pool where people place $1 bets on the lowest bid for a project. The winner usually ends up buying the office donuts.
They, of course, would eliminate all the lawyer jokes. Especially the ones that list questions that have been asked in depositions or courtrooms.
Wow. ironically, this is possibly one of the saddest threads I have read. If the jury got ahold of the emails I send to some of my girlfriends - yikes! Well, I will worry about that happening when I get done stressing over the terrorist’s digging through my trash and finding my drawings. That was a tongue-in-cheek joke, btw.
WHERE IS THE HUMOR? HOW ABOUT A SONG?
THE ARCHITECT SONG
At first I was afraid, I was petrified
thinking I could not design what you had specified
But then I spent too many years redrawing what you just built wrong
and I grew strong
and I learned how to get along
And now you’re back
with more floor space
I just walked in to find you here
with that QS look upon your face
I should have changed that stupid plan
I should have made you pay that fee
If I had known for just one second
you’d be back to bother me
Oh go now go,
delete that door
move the wall around now
you don’t wanna pay for it anymore
Were you the one who tried to break me with your RFIs
you think I’d crumble
you think I’d lay down and die?
Oh no not I
I will survive…
That was great…but…Gloria Gaynor’s attorneys are drawing up papers as I type!
Ralph - this is for you:
This was developed as an age test by an R&D department at Harvard University.
Take your time and see if you can read each line aloud without a mistake.
The average person over 40 years of age can’t do it!
- This is this cat
- This is is cat
- This is how cat
- This is to cat
- This is keep cat
- This is an cat
- This is old cat
- This is fart cat
- This is busy cat
- This is for cat
- This is forty cat
- This is seconds cat
Now go back and read aloud the third word in each line from the top down and I betcha you can’t resist passing it on.
Well, I now wallow in the fact that I am NOT average [as is well known to many!!!]
Did it in 8 seconds!!!
Thanks for your fond thoughts, Jerome!!! Your day is coming!
Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.
- Lord Byron
English poet & satirist
(1788 - 1824)
what happens when the laywers learn about 4specs discussion threads???