Congratulations to last week's winners: Dawn Davis, Elizabeth Dilkes, Homayun Etemadi, Shannon Key, and Elaine Tringali. Please note: Even if you've won a mug, we welcome your votes and comments.

Responses to last week's question: Despite the ever-increasing volume of e-mail requiring their attention, e-mail has improved their work/school lives on the whole, Currents readers say. A sampling of readers' views follows.

On the yes side:

"Absolutely! I would not be able to work in groups for classes nearly as well without e-mail technology. I also use it to communicate more frequently with my family, instead of long telephone calls that would be expensive."

"E-mail will continue to boom out of control until there is a cost associated with sending an item. Right now the cost is borne mostly by the recipient. Learning about the e-mail filters available in most e-mail clients helps control this mess."

"Although I do get a lot of 'junk mail' and find e-mail impersonal at times, I find that communicating with people through e-mail--professors in particular--has been much easier."

Unsure:

"E-mail makes it a lot easier to connect with folks without feeling like you're interrupting them, it's less intrusive than a phone call. On the down side, because e-mail is instantaneous gratification, it creates an expectation that work can accomplished more quickly than it might be reasonable to expect."

Tell us what you think: Each week, we post a question about a topic that's been in the news, is of general interest, or has been suggested by our readers. You have a chance to "weigh in" with a simple "yes," "no," or "unsure," or you may elaborate if you like. Responses are due by Friday at 8 a.m.

Win a nifty Currents Online coffee mug: Each week, the names of five respondents are drawn at random to win a mug. Participants must be UCSC staff, faculty, or students. Please submit your name and campus e-mail address on the response form. One mug per person.

This week's question: Last week as California officials called for relief from energy price gouging, President Bush unveiled his plan for dealing with anticipated energy shortages. His plan offers no price caps but calls for increases in supplies of all fuels by easing federal environmental regulations and encouraging production. It calls for constructing more and better energy-delivery systems, such as pipelines, power lines, and refineries. Do you support the Bush plan?

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