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The note was short and direct, albeit a bit vague: "No smelly foods!"

It was written on a Post-it note and affixed to the door of an office microwave. It soon begat seven anonymous replies. "No red herrings!" echoed one. "Do not microwave your co-workers," instructed another.

Workers regularly congregate in meetings, shoot e-mails back and forth and talk on the phone. But one unrecognized form of office communication is the usually anonymous, always public and often rage-filled note taped to the communal fridge, coffee maker, microwave or bathroom wall.

The most hilarious and insightful of these epistles are being catalogued by Kerry Miller, a 25-year-old New York writer, on her three-week-old blog, Passiveaggressivenotes.com. Postings include nasty notes from roommates, neighbours and strangers.

Web traffic and submissions have been so swift that Ms. Miller is already contemplating a book. "I think there's some sort of group therapy that comes from these notes," she said.

Frequently, the impetus behind them is anger. The most common source of the public office note appears to be stolen lunches. Signs warning of the dire consequences of lunch thievery are common. "Please stop stealing food!" reads one note posted on the site. "I spit in mine!"

One phenomenon tracked by Ms. Miller is the draw of Hot Pockets, those dough-wrapped microwaveable treats that appear to be irresistible to lunch thieves. Ms. Miller calls them "the car radios of the communal freezer."

She has already collected five office signs addressed to Hot Pocket thieves, with another coming from a store that caught one Pocket purloiner hot-handed.

"To Whoever stole my 'Hot Pocket,' " reads one note, "It's Not Done and Not Nice."

Another, with a bit of misguided grammatical flare, calls out: "To the individual whom stole the hot pockets! They did not belong to you! By you consuming said hot pockets, you have committed a theft!"

Then the necessary warning: "This shall not be tolerated!"

A duel is to be forthcoming!

It could be that workers who feel they have no control over real workplace issues, or who are angered with their co-workers over serious professional matters, use the office fridge or microwave to vent their anger anonymously and attempt to take a stand. But what they forget is that the fridge is still part of the office, and their notes have an impact.

"A lot of people don't realize how powerful words are in e-mail or a posted note," said Eileen Chadnick, owner of Big Cheese Coaching in Toronto and a specialist in workplace engagement and communication.

"Be careful with words and how you express what needs to be expressed. An uncomfortable conversation can still be done respectfully."

Ms. Chadnick recommends that would-be note writers have a trusted co-worker vet their missive or simply ask someone in the human resources department to help address the issue.

The growing collection on Ms. Miller's blog seems to suggest that, for better or worse, the public note is one of the traditions of office life.

One note spends three paragraphs dispensing advice and recriminations to people fiddling with the thermostat. Those who take the last cup of coffee and fail to brew another pot are also frequently called out.

"If you leave the coffee pot low," one explains, "you fail at life." A bit harsh, but nonetheless intriguing in its existential leanings.

Like anonymous commentators on blogs or message boards, the writers of unsigned office notes feel liberated to let the fur fly, often without proper grammar and punctuation. And, like anonymous online comments, they invite mockery from other unsigned folk.

"Please do not put milk cartons on refrigerator door," one fridge sign reads.

In an inspired act of disobedience wrapped in a language lesson, a pristine red carton of milk was soon taped to the refrigerator door right next to the note.

On Globeandmail.com/life

Read more from Craig Silverman in The Office, his blog on workplace culture.

SEEKING SUNLIGHT

$33-MILLION WORTHCaryl Dontfraid is suing the New York law firm she formerly worked at for $33-million (U.S.) after being fired recently. Ms. Dontfraid said she suffers from seasonal affective disorder and had asked to work from home during some of the dreary days of fall and winter. That request was denied, and she later raised objections when her department was relocated to offices without sufficient sunlight. She was eventually fired. "She just refused to take her workstation," her supervisor at the Park Avenue law firm said. "What was I going to do? Workers have to work." In a touch of irony, the law firm in question specializes in disability claims. Just not those of its employees.

New York Daily News

BY THE NUMBERS

TOO 'SICK' TO WORK

39

Percentage of fulltime U.S. workers surveyed who said they had called in sick to take a day off during the summer. A Harris Interactive survey conducted for the Workforce Institute and released last week queried more than 1,000 U.S. workers to quantify the extent of "seasonal absence syndrome" - a fancy term that describes workers who use sick days to enjoy time off.

98

Percentage of U.S. workers who said they have gone to work when actually sick, according to a separate survey for the Workforce Institute. The institute said the two surveys illustrate that "employees are forcing the evolution of sick time use in the workplace."

DISEASE CONTROL

BARBERSHOP GERMS

Officials in Saudi Arabia last week announced that expatriates employed at workplaces such as food outlets, barbershops and laundries will be tested for AIDS, malaria, hepatitis B and C and venereal diseases. "There are workers with communicable diseases working in barbershops, restaurants and other places which are closely linked to public health," the chairman of one chamber of commerce said. Who knew you could catch gonorrhea from a haircut?

Arab News

ANCIENT JOBS

WORKING IX TO V

A new book details the functions of various jobs in ancient Rome and Greece. A "locarius" scalped tickets for events such as performances and gladiatorial matches, while a "sandaligerula" made sure her mistress wore the proper footwear. An "orgy planner" needs no explanation. Working IX to V: Orgy Planners, Funeral Clowns, and Other Prized Professions of the Ancient World is published by Walker & Co.

Associated Press