Should I be offended at lack of politeness from e-mail from professor?

T

TheOne

New member
I sent a polite e-mail to a professor that I wish to do research with, but to my cordial e-mail I received a terse, one-line response. It wasn't a negative response, but I felt as if the polite and respectful nature of my e-mail was ignored. Is this a lack of respect on the professors part? It was somewhat similar to this:

My e-mail: Dear Prof. Mackley,

blah blah blah. I thoroughly appreciate blah blha blah...(about 3 paragraphs of polite fluff)

Thank you for all your assistance. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Respectfully,
my name

His Response:

when do you want to start


That was it! I feel silly now for having sent such a nice e-mail. Should I not send polite e-mails to this professor anymore? Should I just ignore and continue being polite?
EDIT: In our future correspondence, should I adopt his tone? I realize he is my superior, but I don't want to annoy him with fluff if that is indeed the case here. Thank you for all the helpful responses.
 
some people actually reply like that. don't take it so personally. at least he REPLIED and accepted you in his research.
 
The reason he answered like that is because he's got hundreds of students to respond to. He probably has hundreds of emails backlogged. Don't take it personally and no, don't adopt his tone.
 
He's a very direct person. Your letter sounds professional and you should be concerned with being professional but he doesn't have to since he is the professor and you are making a request of him. The more direct you can be, the better though. I've been told that I use too many words to get my point across to people and sometimes lose them.
 
Polite fluff annoys some people. The response indicates that the professor at the least doesn't care about it. Why should they have to respond to a polite email with their own three paragraphs of fluff? That would get tedious. Why should you?
 
I wouldn't be offended by it. A lot of people, when using email, tend to write the way they speak, as opposed to phrasing their messages as formal notes. Yes, it would have been nice if he'd included a greeting, etc, but this is one of those things you just have to let go.
 
Sorry, but you seem rather arrogant. You are a student initiating contact with a mature highly qualified and respected professor who took the time to respond to you in a positive manner "When do you want to start?".
I'm not sure what you expected. Obviously you are not grateful.
 
Been in that position. Now that I'm in full-time research myself, I catch myself sending some very short but to-the-point mails myself, simply because I'm so busy. Don't take it personally; e-mails tend to be shortened for speed.
 
Most profs talk like that since they get bombarded with emails from students.
Nothing to be embarassed about. Your prof didnt think twice of his email, neither should you
 
Don't feel silly for being polite. But keep in mind that professors are busy and probably get a lot of emails from students. Nobody wants to read 3 paragraphs of fluff. Keep it polite but succinct.

Also keep in mind that many professors think they're god's gift to academia. You may have run into one of those. Still, don't let his behavior dictate yours.
 
He wasn't being rude. Some professors actually... can't write all that well. I know it sounds weird, but I've written to many professors who can't write more than in text speak or things like what you posted. Just forgive him for it and move on.
 
Girl, there was nothing wrong with his email and your email was appropriate as well..Some people do not like all of that unnecessary dialogue and prefer to get right to the point. There is no need to be offended because he stayed within the professional realm of your soon to be working relationship....Stop tripping over small insignificant matters>:)
 
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