Email by 6 PM Please

If you are not going to make class on a given night, please email by 6 PM if possible. That's about as close to class that I will check my email. If you email after 6 PM, then I probably will not see it until after class. That would still be better than not emailing at all. I ask for the emails as a courtesy, so I know who to expect. Now if you are a person who only comes one night a week, then I don't expect emails on those nights that you would not normally show up. Perhaps the opposite, if you are going to show up a night that you usually don't then an email would be in order. Thank you all for your help with this matter.

Black Belt

What does it mean to get your Black Belt? What does it mean to earn your first dan rank? In the "old" days it meant you were a serious student, so what would that look like? Did it look different 20 years ago then it does today, and if so, why? What's it mean in context of class? Any other thoughts on the topic? Just trying to get people's current point of view's on the topic.