You're probably really famous but...

Sample an email I received this evening:

Hi Kamal,

How are you?

Srinivas

The 'from' in the email also just said Srinivas. Now, which Srinivas is this? I know like a hundred Srinivases. In fact, statistics show that every third person in the state of Andhra Pradesh is called Srinivas! Well, ok, not every third. But probably somewhere close.

What I really fail to understand is why some people do not put their last name in their 'From' field while setting up their email. Heck, some people do not recognize me when I sign as Kamal Shah. They know me as Kamal D Shah and they wonder who Kamal Shah is!

And you actually have people who sign off with just their first names! I can understand if you have a name like Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. If he signed with either his first name or his last name, anyone who knew him will instantly recognize him because there probably is no one else on earth with that name!

But Srinivas? Nah!