There are certain situations where using an excuse makes you look like a lazy ass. For example, if I came in to a conference call 5 minutes late and was asked a question about the discussion that occurred before I was on the line, it’s completely appropriate for me to say “I’m coming in late to this conversation”…and ask to be brought up to speed.

When you receive a chain of 7 or 8 emails in a single day, and you’ve been copied on each email, it is NOT appropriate to say “I’m coming in late to this conversation”…and ask to be brought up to speed. All you need to do is open your eyes and read the emails that 4 or 5 other people have sent to educate you. I had to bite my tongue (fingers?) to refrain from telling this jackass to READ his emails - but instead I copied and pasted to “bring him up to speed”.

Seriously - how hard is it to go through your inbox and READ emails before sending something like that? It’s not as if this person wasn’t copied on the earlier emails - he was! Duh.