Awhile back I gained some notoriety for knowing how to use a cameraphone and YouTube. Here is an email exchange that resulted:

Hello Sir, I was wondering if i could ask you a few questions about the story about the Muni Bus Driver that was getting a back rub while driving? If you could please let me know. Thank You, David H.

As an effective google-stalker, I quickly determined that the David Hayner who was sending the email was a 16-year-old in Stockton. I couldn't find out much more, because his profile is private and I really don't care. I replied:

Sure, David, ask away. Matt.

Three weeks went by. Then:

Ok Now i am a Transit driver in Northern Cali ok and i understand your whole problem with the back rub thing but did you really need to take it as public as you did? You just made that stuff public and was it really worth all the hell that driver is going thru now? I can understand reporting him to the company but it didn't need to go to the news media like that cause now ALL DRIVERS are having to deal with this even were i work we have all new more tough rules now sayin we cant even have our family with us on our coach. And when this did go to the media you had the route number and all that in the media. Why? Why did you make such a big deal over it? And if you have a problem with the back rub you should have talk to the driver personaly it would have been alot easier wouldnt it have been easier?

I responded within minutes:

Hello David, Thanks very much for your email. I'm glad to hear that drivers are being held to standards for safety and performance. Matt.

And he responded within minutes, too:

Yeh they are but it bad enough when drivers work 12 hours on and only 8 hours off we cant see our familys cause of the new rules. And you have to think bout it like your in our shoes when somethin like this happen. When you sit in that driver seat for 5 hours at a time you need a back rub cause those seats hurt like hell. You could have just asked him to have her stop Couldnt you have? And all that should matter is that the Coach is running on time and the driver is driving safely right?

And a minute later, my final reply:

Hello David, Thanks very much for your email. You may have a point. Matt.

The final words in our exchange I graciously permitted to David:

Do me a favor and when u have time ride a bus for 2 or 3 hours without getting up and u will know kinda how it is for us. Ok

I know it's supposed to enrich us, to be able to communicate seamlessly across barriers of age and culture and geography. But I think there's an intellectual bandwidth squeeze happening here that may be to the detriment of all involved.