Just in case this site hasn’t given you enough reasons to think twice before leaving a passive-aggressive note, Tobjar in Oakland, California passes along this cautionary tale from worsethanfailure.com:

Not too long ago, there was a small furor in the local media about a major disaster at The State’s Technology Services Division.…When employees of The State came in to work following a three day weekend, they found their workstations overloaded with “cannot logon” and “Exchange communication” error messages. The Network Services folks had it even worse: the server room was a sweltering 109° Fahrenheit and filled with dead or dying servers….They worked day and night to order new equipment, build new servers, and restore everything from back-up. Countless overtime hours and nearly two hundred thousand dollars in equipment costs later, they managed to bring everything back online. When the Exchange servers were finally restored, the following email finally made its way to everyone’s inbox:

As for the employee who sent it, he decided to take an early retirement.

related: When Ph.d.s get frustrated

(Thanks to Jon for submitting!)

“My co-workers and I were in love with this note when we found it attached to the office refrigerator,” says Brian in Cleveland. “We wanted a copy, but the woman frightened us. So we came up with an elaborate scheme. One co-worker walked to the kitchen carrying a folder. She grabbed the note, stuffed it inside, and walked down the hallway. She handed it to another co-worker and stood watch. That co-worker raced to give it to me, who rapidly made a copy. Then we reversed the sequence. Within two minutes, the note was back on the fridge, and we were in heaven.”

So worth the effort though, right?

Cassie in Orlando is a preschool teacher, and brings us this note posted by the school’s director. “I cannot help but be in awe of her after this note,” Cassie says, and I have to agree.

A classic, no?

related: From the Manager’s Book of Quotes for Inspiring Workplace Paranoia

Paul in San Diego says this note showed up above both urinals at his office last week.

related: The bathroom-stall booger epidemic

This is a special note indeed. The idiosyncratic spelling, spacing, and bolding are fascinating — and I love how the third sentence is so rhetorical it doesn’t even deserve a question mark. I think what I enjoy most, however, is the after-the-fact realization that the desired action here just wasn’t quite explicit enough.

(Thanks to Molly in Washington, D.C. for submitting!)

related: The needy little dishwasher

Exhibit a) From Richmond, Virginia: the pedantic approach

Exhibit b) From Minneapolis: the conditional approach

Exhibit c) From Hartford, Connecticut: the ALL for one and one for ALL approach

Exhibit d) From Dallas: the federal government’s approach

(Thanks to Erik and Kim for their submissions.)

related: To the ICE GOBBLERS