I know y’all also get lots of msgs from people asking to collaborate, or to ask for help with their work, for advice, or validation.

They come and go in waves, but I’m getting a LOT lately. What is up?

What are some of your fave requests? By faves of course I mean the worst.

I’m guessing covid has people stuck working at home, coming up with ways to engage with their students, and that watching films online is an easy time filler. Hence more ppl contacting me for Q&As, panel discussions, etc.

But I gotta say right now my pet peeves when requesting my time (in no particular order) are:

An essay of unnecessary info explaining why you want my time.

Annoying zoom panel behaviour #2: Unnecessarily long tech test calls before a live session. An HOUR? Really?

#3 zoom panel annoyance: re-confirming my attendance 16 bazillion times before the event. Why don’t you trust I’ll be there? Is it because I’m native? One confirmation after initial contact, then a reminder the day before and/or day of. Anything more is insulting.

Annoying zoom panel behaviour #4:
Requesting me when there are way more appropriate speakers, which means you haven’t even googled the issue. Am I really the only native/Inuk person you’ve heard of/have remote connection to? I’m not an expert in everything my ppl are affected by.

#5 annoying zoom panel behaviour:

“Ummm, we don’t use zoom, do you mind Microsoft Teams instead?”