The Favor That Ate New York

[kayay]

There’s someone I talk to now and then. We don’t know each other very well, and we haven’t much in common. Moreover, he has several annoying habits, like the overuse of “lol”. It appears about every third line, thus the online equivalent of saying, “you know” or “um” all the time. But he’s only fifteen, so I try to be patient, allowing for the

Comments

[dainul]

invisble mode is your friend...

[kayay]

But then I'd never get such stories to share.

The tack to take.

[takaal]

There's a sign on my desk: "Just say no. Offer no explanations; no excuses. Just 'no'." If he asks for anything else, say 'no'. You don't have to justify anything. If he finds you online and asks for *anything*, just say no. And "I don't want to" is just fine, if you simply must add something.

Re: The tack to take.

[kayay]

It started off like such a small, quick task. If he'd just come right out and said, "I have a project due in two days I need help with," then told me about it, I might have said yes, but he kept slwoly tacking more and more requests on. Git. I never did say "no" regarding his later requests, yet I never said "yes" either. I kind of felt sorry for him at the time, but just now on AIM I told him I can't do it -- no time and now no resources -- so YAY for me.

[ekaterini]

That stinker. But you get kudos for staying patient and polite as long as you did when he deserved a flat out "do it yourself, kid."