In the world of casual communication, I agree with Kevin Hardy’s assessment that a subject line is unnecessary (“Please Read: Don’t include subjects with e-mails,” SN 12/1). But in the world of business communication, the subject line serves a purpose.
I’m a secretary for several faculty members, and sometimes I need to send messages to their colleagues through e-mail. I use the subject line to identify whom the message is actually from, as I’m an unknown, but I use my name on the “from” line. On the subject line, I would put a phrase such as “Msg from Dr. Smith re: adjuvant.”
Linda Salemka
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
