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Discussion Groups / British English / May 2004Meaning of "FYI (for your information)"
I used to think that "FYI (for your information)" meant the same thing as "For your information ONLY" i.e., no action (or immediate attention) is needed. But apparently "FYI" and "FYI only" are different. So the only meaning I can draw from "FYI" (overused in email) is that the item is not urgent. Please comment. Thanks. ---------------------------- A question about Google: When I search for "bush behavior" with quotes, most of the pages I get actually contain "Bush's behavior". Is there a way to search for exactly the phrase/string "bush behavior" in Google? > > I knew the word "bush league" (minor league), but > I didn't know "bush" (unprofessional) by itself can > be > used as an adjective. > > ____ My question: How common is this usage? ____ > > http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary > Main Entry: 5bush > Function: adjective > Etymology: short for bush-league > : falling below acceptable standards : > UNPROFESSIONAL > <bush behavior> > > ____ My question: How common is this usage? ____ > > My guess is that it's pretty uncommon, otherwise > there would've been lots of headlines like > > "Bush's Bush Behavior: > Brand-new Boo-boo by the Blundering, Bungling > Baboon" > > In the UK, also add: Bloody > > Bush: bonobo-brained bubba > > I used to think that > "FYI (for your information)" meant the same thing as [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > So the only meaning I can draw from "FYI" > (overused in email) is that the item is not urgent. I would have taken "FYI" to mean no action required and as a polite comment. "FYI only" I would have taken to mean either: 1. *do not* take action on this, or 2. "for your eyes only" ------- Redwine Hamburg > I would have taken "FYI" to mean no action required and as a polite > comment. In usenet posts and email it's often also, "you didn't ask about this but I'm telling you because I think you need to know about it." Brian Rodenborn >> I would have taken "FYI" to mean no action required and as a >> polite comment. > > In usenet posts and email it's often also, "you didn't ask about > this but I'm telling you because I think you need to know about > it." This is how I use and interpret "FYI", although "need" could sometimes be replaced with "would want". This usage encompasses not only situations where no action is required, but also ones where action is definitely required. For example, if I received an e-mail from the IT department warning about the Sasser worm and the need to install the patch that resolves the vulnerability this worm exploits, I might forward it personnel who report to me with the message, "FYI". I would expect them to interpret my message as an instruction from me to install the patch, if they had not already.  SignatureMike Nitabach >>> I would have taken "FYI" to mean no action required and as a >>> polite comment. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > them to interpret my message as an instruction from me to install > the patch, if they had not already. FYI: If I were a recipient of your "FYI" message, I would interpret it as something that you wanted let me know so that I could decide for myself whether to install the patch or not. I would certainly not take it as an instruction to do so. SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ >>>> I would have taken "FYI" to mean no action required and as a >>>> polite comment. [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > could decide for myself whether to install the patch or not. I > would certainly not take it as an instruction to do so. Even if you were my employee? SignatureMike Nitabach >>>>> I would have taken "FYI" to mean no action required and as a >>>>> polite comment. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Even if you were my employee? Yes. After all, it was marked to be for my information, not action. I expect my bosses would know better than to be so wishy-washy. Of course, often that is not the case. My bosses came and went (there were meny stupid ones), but I survived. SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ > My bosses came and went (there > were meny stupid ones), but I survived. My typing, however, was never very good. SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ >> My bosses came and went (there >> were meny stupid ones), but I survived. > >My typing, however, was never very good. The came to be your boss, and went off to either be the boss of someone else or the bossed of someone else, but one assumes that they also survived. Unless, of course, your employer was a bit more Draconian than I assume. >>> My bosses came and went (there >>> were meny stupid ones), but I survived. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > also survived. Unless, of course, your employer was a bit more > Draconian than I assume. Several were moved into non-boss positions. They were unsuitable for human interactions. Working in the engineering field in the defense industry is something that not all survive without going bonkers. Also, by now, many of my former bosses have joined the choir invisible. SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ > Several were moved into non-boss positions. They were unsuitable for human > interactions. Working in the engineering field in the defense industry is > something that not all survive without going bonkers. Also, by now, many of > my former bosses have joined the choir invisible. Poetic, or legal French? Were they court-martialed? SignatureRedwine Hamburg "Professor Redwine" <paul.compton@berlin.de> wrote... > > Several were moved into non-boss positions. They were unsuitable > > for human interactions. Working in the engineering field in the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Poetic, or legal French? Were they court-martialed? Tut. "Courted martial". (We need some kind of pre-martial agreement on this stuff.) Matti > "Professor Redwine" <paul.compton@berlin.de> wrote... ... > > > Also, by now, many of my former bosses have joined the > > > choir invisible. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Tut. "Courted martial". (We need some kind of pre-martial agreement on > this stuff.) Now pronounced "pre-nuptual agreement". SignatureJerry Friedman >Now pronounced "pre-nuptual agreement". We pronounce it "ante-nuptial contract". SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk > spake Skitt thus: >> Several were moved into non-boss positions. They were unsuitable >> for human interactions. Working in the engineering field in the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Poetic, or legal French? Were they court-martialed? Which ones? Some were demoted, others have ceased to be -- you know -- they are bereft of life and shuffled off this mortal coil, if you will. SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ >>>>>> I would have taken "FYI" to mean no action required and as a >>>>>> polite comment. [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] >Yes. After all, it was marked to be for my information, not action. I >expect my bosses would know better than to be so wishy-washy. What I see here is a hypothetical situation with you as employee and Michael Nitabach as boss. What Michael seems to be implying is that there would be a clear policy in which the user of each computer would be responsible for installing security patches as and when they became available. In this context an FYI message about a vulnerability would be expected to trigger action. Of course, >often that is not the case. My bosses came and went (there were meny stupid >ones), but I survived. SignaturePeter Duncanson UK (posting from u.c.l.e) > > I used to think that > > "FYI (for your information)" meant the same thing as [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > 1. *do not* take action on this, or > 2. "for your eyes only" That's a strange way you're spelling "eyes" there! You're not masquerading as RAYMOND O'HARA by any chance? Edward SignatureThe reading group's reading group: http://www.bookgroup.org.uk >> > I used to think that >> > "FYI (for your information)" meant the same thing as [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > That's a strange way you're spelling "eyes" there! You're not > masquerading as RAYMOND O'HARA by any chance? That was a low shot! I realised after I had clicked post that it could be misunderstood. I was trying to provide an equivalent, hence the quotation marks. What I meant was that "For Your Information Only" could mean "For YOUR information only" and hence the same as "For Your Eyes Only". SignatureRedwine Hamburg > I used to think that > "FYI (for your information)" meant the same thing as [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Please comment. Thanks. "For your information" means that no action is needed. Adrian On Wed, 12 May 2004 14:14:26 -0700 (PDT), wrote: > I used to think that > "FYI (for your information)" meant the same thing as [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Please comment. Thanks. I've worked for organisations (I'm thinking chiefly of the British Council) where the convention is FYI - For your information (only - ie, you don't have to do anything) FYA - For your attention (action required) DC At 14:14:26 on Wed, 12 May 2004, T. Z. <Use-Author-Address-Header@[127.1]> wrote in <20040512211426.955.qmail@web13002.mail.yahoo.com>: >A question about Google: >When I search for "bush behavior" with quotes, >most of the pages I get actually contain >"Bush's behavior". Try: "bush behavior" -"bush's". (Although neither of these newsgroups is actually right for that sort of query.) SignatureMolly Mockford I think I've been too long on my own, but the little green goblin that lives under the sink says I'm OK - and he's never wrong, so I must be! (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) >I used to think that >"FYI (for your information)" meant the same thing as >"For your information ONLY" >i.e., no action (or immediate attention) is needed. > >But apparently "FYI" and "FYI only" are different. I've never seen "FYI only" and I always interpret "FYI" to mean "I'm sending this to you so that you're aware of it, even though you're not being asked to do anything." Which is, essentially, "FYI only". SignatureHarlan Messinger Remove the first dot from my e-mail address. Veuillez ôter le premier point de mon adresse de courriel. |
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