Classifieds

It was once common for military commanders to use runners to deliver questions or a change in tactics to other units. The wise officer had this messenger repeat back his instructions to ensure that they arrived verbatim when delivered.
On my bookshelves are two collections of Civil War correspondence between commanders and their subordinates. Though written in that era's more formal language, most of these dispatches clearly communicate their orders and suggestions. To issue garbled instructions, as sometimes happened, was to endanger the lives of thousands of soldiers and risk losing a battle.
The damage done by such failures extends far beyond any battlefield, then or now. Most of us have received texts or emails that have befuddled us, confusing rather than clarifying some particular situation....