Emailing a prof- Dr. ___ or first name?

[Jfz]

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He's not actually one of my professors he spoke to my class a couple nights ago though. He introduced himself by his first name, and seemed really cool and relaxed, didn't even know his last name til he wrote his email down. I went and talked with him after and he told me to send him an email, I'm just not sure if I should go as informal as what he introduced himself as, or if I should go for Dr. (lastname) as I don't really know him.

 

[FIREitUP]

He's not actually one of my professors he spoke to my class a couple nights ago though. He introduced himself by his first name, and seemed really cool and relaxed, didn't even know his last name til he wrote his email down. I went and talked with him after and he told me to send him an email, I'm just not sure if I should go as informal as what he introduced himself as, or if I should go for Dr. (lastname) as I don't really know him.

when in doubt, use dr. next time use common sense instead of posting indiscriminately.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Use "Dr." You don't know him personally.

 

[apumic]

Absolutely NOT first name unless you are already on a first name basis with him, and even then it should be Dr. [First Name] to show respect. A lot depends on the culture of the school but unless you've studied with him in a research lab and he has introduced himself to you personally by first name and/or stated he wishes to be referred to by first name by students, I wouldn't do so. Even with professors in the last case, I generally prefer to refer to them as Dr. [First Name] if they have their doctorate and I'm not an undergrad anymore...

 

[Jfz]

when in doubt, use dr. next time use common sense instead of posting indiscriminately.

I'm sorry, what?



And thanks Milkman, saved me from a possibly embarrassing situation

 

[FIREitUP]

I'm sorry, what?



And thanks Milkman, saved me from a possibly embarrassing situation

i said if you don't know whether to use dr. or first name, use dr. then i proceeded to chastise you for posting something that you could have easily thought out and resolved on your own instead of having us spoon feed you common sense.

 

[mmmcdowe]

It is very hard to show too much respect, it is very easy to show too little. Go with the formal title.

 

[Jfz]

i said if you don't know whether to use dr. or first name, use dr. then i proceeded to chastise you for posting something that you could have easily thought out and resolved on your own instead of having us spoon feed you common sense.

1) Shutup. don't get too worked up about it there's a lot more **** in PreMed Allo than this thread

2) it's not common sense to me. he introduced himself informally I wasn't sure if he wanted to be spoken to informally. These formalities are all foreign to me

 

[7starmantis]

when in doubt, use dr. next time use common sense instead of posting indiscriminately.

+1

Finally we agree.

 

[schrizto]

1) Shutup. don't get too worked up about it there's a lot more **** in PreMed Allo than this thread

2) it's not common sense to me. he introduced himself informally I wasn't sure if he wanted to be spoken to informally. These formalities are all foreign to me

C'mon dude, this same question pops up in Pre-Allo all the time.

 

[BennieBlanco]

He's not actually one of my professors he spoke to my class a couple nights ago though. He introduced himself by his first name, and seemed really cool and relaxed, didn't even know his last name til he wrote his email down. I went and talked with him after and he told me to send him an email, I'm just not sure if I should go as informal as what he introduced himself as, or if I should go for Dr. (lastname) as I don't really know him.

Dr. is ALWAYS safe.

Worst case is they say stop being so formal.

A doctor I shadow told me right away to call him "bob", so I address him by his first name.

BUT don't do this until told to. ER docs are cool and usually like this.

 

[rockaction]

Wow, people can be so dumb. Obviously use the formal title.

 

[J ROD]

Dr.

 

[wanderer]

Unless you've known him for years, try to be more formal in written communication (snail mail and email) and call him Dr. Lastname, even if in person you address him by first name.

 

[vickpick]

when in doubt, use dr. Next time use common sense instead of posting indiscriminately.

+4

 

[jj6vcb]

when in doubt, use dr. next time use common sense instead of posting indiscriminately.

My god people, give this guy a break - how bad is it that he wasted 5 seconds of your afternoon?

 

[binko]

Compromise and call him Dr. Firstname

 

[ronaldo23]

When I'm e-mailing teachers or talking to them directly, I always call them professor, even if I'm not in a class with them.

 

[FIREitUP]

i would like to rescind my previous statement. in your email, make sure you riddle it with profanities and ensure that you make an attempt at communicating in jive.

 

[m0biusace]

when in doubt, use dr. Next time use common sense instead of posting indiscriminately.

+8