Required versus Optional

You know, I really don’t understand why is it that people do not know what is the difference between Required and Optional.

Take for example, when there is a meeting that A, B & C is supposed to attend. Of course, that would mean that all 3 of them are to be under the Required tab when one is sending a calendar event via Microsoft Outlook.

And when there is a meeting whereby A & B are required to attend, and optional for C, that would mean that A & B would have to be under the Required tab while C would have to be under the Optional tab, right (as it is not compulsory for him to attend the meeting)?

Point to note, there is not an option of FYI (For Your Information) tab under the recipient field. Only 3 are available - Required, Optional & Resources. See below:



So, with all the above information, what do you think should be under the Required tab when one is on leave?

I find it very funny that the staff in my company would happily put their bosses or the email that tracks staff movements under the Required tab, while placing the teammates that they are working with under the Optional tab.

So does it mean that when that particular staff is on leave, the boss is required to be on leave too?

This brings me back to an entry that I've blogged about before. Does it mean that the person does not obey instructions? Or do they simply DON’T UNDERSTAND them?