This page outlines the various methods you can use to get in touch with me if you feel the need. The format is heavily inspired by rhiaro’s contact page. The contact methods are listed in descending order of preference i.e. my favourite is at the top.
tldr;
- If it’s not urgent, you’re a friend or internet stranger, then just reach out to my email address below. I am very open to internet strangers messaging me to say hello or start a chat.
- If you know me and it’s urgent please ring my phone number, I prefer this to texting and instant messaging.
I may not respond immediately because I don’t often carry my phone in my pocket. It’s usually in a backpack or a drawer and is silent. On average, you won’t wait too long but it’s not likely to be immediate.
Table of Contents
Email is my preferred way of receiving messages. I mostly see email on my computers but I can access my personal accounts on my phone. I cannot access my work email from my phone.
If you want to get in touch or just say hello: you can email me at the address below. It’s obfuscated to stop relentless SPAM-bots but if you run the command in your terminal it’ll print my email address. For normal people: use my first name (matt) and the domain name of this website (mrshll.uk).
printf "%s@%s.%s\n" matt mrshll uk
I have a public key for receiving encrypted messages, which you can find at the link below:
- My PGP public key (plaintext, 4KiB). You should check the signature matches the signature below.
My public key’s signature:
12BA A1E9 2721 A29C 0A64 4947 E78D 937F 2B5D AEFA
- Will I see it? Almost certainly, once I’m in a wi-fi zone
- Will I reply? Very likely although you may be waiting a day or so in some circumstances
Phone call and SMS
I enjoy receiving phone calls from people I know, so this is a reasonable way to get in touch with me if you have my number. Feel free to call to check something, see if I’m free for a chat, or inform me about something.
I may not see the call immediately. When I’m at home my phone lives in a drawer and when I’m mobile it lives in my backpack. It’s also permanently on silent. This means I might miss the call. I will strive to ring you back as soon as possible but if you just fancied a chat then please also drop me a line via email or SMS to let me know so I can call back at a convenient time.
I may also not be up for answering the phone. If I’m over-socialised, tired, or generally just needing some “me-time”, then I likely won’t answer the phone. If this is the case I’ll send you a message via an appropriate channel to let you know.
All unknown numbers go straight through to voice mail, please do not be offended. Leave me a message and I’ll get back to you appropriately.
Please try not give my phone number to someone else unless it’s an emergency or without checking with me first.
- Will I see it? Yes, although there may be a few hours delay
- Will I reply? Yes, assuming I know you
SMS
If you have my phone number then it’s also fine to send me an SMS. Since these are delivered to my phone and only my phone, the same rules as phone calls apply for when I may see it. In most circumstances I will respond to emails faster than SMS.
I generally only reply to SMS messages from friends but only friends generally know my number so this works out. If you’ve gotten my number from someone else or if you’ve had my number from a few years ago – please let me know who you are and who gave you the number (if applicable) so that I don’t think it’s spam
Again, please try not give my phone number to someone else unless it’s an emergency or without checking with me first.
I don’t like to use SMS for long-form conversations so if our message exchange starts to resemble a conversation or the messages get longer, I may ask that we just have a chat on the phone or move the chat elsewhere. It’s fine if you don’t want to, but just a heads up.
- Will I see it? Yes, eventually
- Will I reply? Yes if I don’t forget and if I know you
Instant Messaging
I do use instant messaging but I would much prefer you to email me.
My phone number is attached to accounts on some instant messaging services: Signal and Telegram. If you know my phone number or you have my username on either of these, you can send me a message there.
Signal and Telegram are each installed on my phone but my phone is often without a data connection and lives in a drawer or backpack so my replies will be intermittent. I mostly access them via a desktop or web client, which I open every once in a while throughout the day if I’m at my computer.
My relationship with each Signal and Telegram is strained at best and I do not trust either of them for various reasons despite them each advertising themselves as secure. I still use them cautiously with friends and family because they’re not Whatsapp and the interface/features are better for long-form conversations than SMS is. I can also access them from my computers rather than just my phone. It’s also hard to convice friends and family to send you emails rather than SMS messages or instant messages, so this is my compromise.
- I don’t trust Signal on Drew DeVault’s blog
- Why You Should Stop Using Telegram Right Now on Gizmodo.com
If we’re chatting using some instant messaging app – please do not add me to a group chat without my consent unless it’s for a specific emergency coordination reason. I also have a policy of muting all groupchats because the notifications are overwhelming. Please don’t be offended by this if you’ve added me to a group chat and I’m quiet.
Please do not video call me out of the blue using these or any other messaging service – I will refuse the call. If you want to video-chat, please just message me to see if I’m free and willing; or just phone me via my phone number.
- Will I see it? Yes
- Will I reply? Probably
Whatsapp, Slack, and Discord
These deserve special mention because of their prevalance.
I do not use, nor will I ever use, Whatsapp. It’s owned by Meta and it’s proprietary so it will never be installed on my phone.
Clients occasionally request that I use Slack to communicate with them or participate in specific discussions. In these cases I join their Slack servers/channels with an account attached to my work email. I do not, however, install a desktop or mobile client for Slack which means that I only get notifications via email. This means that when I see it will depend on when I check my work email, usually this is only three or four times a day.
The Slack web client is pretty shocking and takes up a lot of CPU and memory. If you’re one of my clients and we’re already on a video call and inside a shared Document together I won’t have Slack open to chat in the background because it’s often too much even for my computer and usually I’m concentrating on taking notes. I’ll usually check on our Slack conversation immediately following a call if I want to follow up or send some links across.
I won’t use Slack for any non-paid work excepting in some extreme circumstances if no other option is available. I’m yet to be confronted with this, so do not know where my line is drawn at the moment.
I do not use Discord and I doubt that I ever will. I find it very strange that FOSS projects continue to use Discord.
- Will I see it (Slack)? Yes, but subject to delays
- Will I reply? If you’re messaging me via Slack then you’re a client of mine, so I will respond immediately once I see the message
Social Media
You cannot find me on conventional, proprietary, social media. I no longer have — or never had — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, or LinkedIn accounts. I will not create one in order to interact with you there. Thanks for being understanding and we can chat using any of the other methods outlined above.
I do have a few accounts across the Fediverse but it’s not a great way to reach out to me as I use them to participate in specific communities. I control @mrshll1001@mastodon.social
as a public-facing Fediverse profile but I do not log in. If you’re trying desperately to reach me by any means possible feel free to send it a DM but please try all other methods first.
Again, social media really is not the best way to reach me.
- Will I see it? Probably not
- Will I reply? No