EmailEtiquetteTips

A. SendingEmails

1. Makesureyouremailincludesacourteousgreetingandclosing.Helpsto
makeyouremailnotseemdemandingorterse.

2. Addressyourcontactwiththeappropriatelevelofformalityandmakesure
youspelledtheirnamecorrectly.

3. Spellcheckemailswithtyposaresimplynottakenasseriously.

4. Readyouremailoutloudtoensurethetoneisthatwhichyoudesire.Tryto
avoidrelyingonformattingforemphasis;ratherchoosethewordsthatreflect
yourmeaninginstead.Afewadditionsofthewords"please"and"thankyou"
goalongway!

5. Besureyouareincludingallrelevantdetailsorinformationnecessaryto
understandyourrequestorpointofview.Generalitiescanmanytimescause
confusionandunnecessarybackandforth.

6. Areyouusingpropersentencestructure?Firstwordcapitalizedwith
appropriatepunctuation?Multipleinstancesof!!!or???areperceivedasrude
orcondescending.

7. Ifyouremailisemotionallycharged,walkawayfromthecomputerandwaitto
reply.ReviewtheSender'semailagainsothatyouaresureyouarenotreading
anythingintotheemailthatsimplyisn'tthere.

8. Ifsendingattachments,didyouaskfirstwhenwouldbethebesttimetosend?
Didyoucheckfilesizetomakesureyoudon'tfilltheotherside'sinboxcausing
allsubsequentemailtobounce?

9. RefrainfromusingtheReplytoAllfeaturetogiveyouropiniontothosewho
maynotbeinterested.InmostcasesreplyingtotheSenderaloneisyourbest
courseofaction.

10.MakeonelastcheckthattheaddressoraddressesintheTo:fieldarethose
youwishtosendyourreplyto.

11.BesureyournameisreflectedproperlyintheFrom:field.JaneA.Doe(not
jane,janedoeorJANEDOE).

12.Typeincompletesentences.Totyperandomphrasesorcrypticthoughtsdoes
notlendtoclearcommunication.

13.Neverassumetheintentofanemail.Ifyouarenotsureasksoastoavoid
unnecessarymisunderstandings.

14.Justbecausesomeonedoesn'taskforaresponsedoesn'tmeanyouignore
them.Alwaysacknowledgeemailsfromthoseyouknowinatimelymanner.

15.BesuretheSubject:fieldaccuratelyreflectsthecontentofyouremail.

16.Don'thesitatetosaythankyou,howareyou,orappreciateyourhelp!Keep
emailsbriefandtothepoint.

17.Savelongconversationsfortheoldfashionedhometelephone.

18.Alwaysendyouremailswith"Thankyou,""Sincerely,""Takeiteasy,""Best
regards"something!

B. FormattingEmails

19.Donottypeinallcaps.That'syellingorreflectsshoutingemphasis.
20.Ifyouboldyourtype,knowyouareboldingyourstatementanditwillbetaken
thatwaybytheothersideX10!

21.Donotusepatternedbackgrounds.Makesyouremailhardertoread.

22.Stayawayfromfancyschmancyfontsonlythestandardfontsareonall
computers.

23.Useemoticonssparinglytoensureyourtoneandintentareclear.

24.Typingyouremailsinallsmallcasegivestheperceptionoflackofeducationor
laziness.

25.Refrainfromusingmultiplefontcolorsinoneemail.Itmakesyouremail
hardertoviewandcanaddtoyourintentbeingmisinterpreted.

26.Useformattingsparingly.Insteadtrytorelyonchoosingthemostaccurate
wordspossibletoreflectyourtoneandavoidmisunderstandingsinthe
process.

C. EmailAttachments
27.Whensendinglargeattachments,always"zip"orcompressthembefore
sending.
28.Neversendlargeattachmentswithoutnotice!Alwaysaskwhatwouldbethe
besttimetosendthemfirst.

29.Learnhowtoresampleorresizegraphicstoabout600pixelsinwidthbefore
attachingthemtoanemail.Thiswillgreatlyreducedownloadtime.

30.Neveropenanattachmentfromsomeoneyoudon'tknow.

31.Besureyourvirus,adwareandspywareprogramsareuptodateandinclude
scanningofyouremailsandattachmentsbothincomingandoutgoing.

32.Itisbettertospreadmultipleattachmentsoverseveralemailsratherthan
attachingthemalltooneemailtoavoidcloggingthepipeline.

33.Makesuretheothersidehasthesamesoftwareasyoubeforesending
attachmentsortheymaynotbeabletoopenyourattachment.UsePDFwhen
possible.

D. To,From,CC,BCc,RR,Subject:
34.OnlyuseCc:whenitisimportantforthoseyouCc:toknowaboutthecontents
oftheemail.Overusecancauseyouremailstobeignored.

35.Don'tuseReturnReceipt(RR)oneverysingleemail.Doingsoisviewedas
intrusive,annoyingandcanbedeclinedbytheothersideanyway.

36.IncludeaddressesintheTo:fieldforthosewhoyouwouldlikearesponse
from.

37.IncludeaddressesintheCc:fieldforthosewhoyouarejustFYI'ing.

38.MakesureyournameisdisplayedproperlyintheFrom:field.

39.RemoveaddressesfromtheTo:,CC;andBCc:fieldthatdon'tneedtoseeyour
reply.

40.AlwaysincludeabriefSubject.Nosubjectcangetyouremailflaggedasspam.

41.ThinkaboutyourmotiveswhenaddingaddressestoTo:,CC:,BCc.Useyour
discretion.

42.Neverexposeyourfriend'sorcontact'semailaddresstostrangersbylisting
themallintheTo:field.UseBCc:!

43.MakesurewhenusingBCc:thatyourintentionsareproper.TosendBCc:
copiestoothersasawayoftalkingbehindsomeone'sbackisinconsiderate.

E. EmailForwarding

44.Don'tforwardemailsthatsaytodosonomatterhownoblethecausemay
be.Mostarehoaxesorhooeyandmaynotbeappreciatedbythoseyousend
to.

45.Ifsomeoneasksyoutorefrainfromforwardingemailstheyhavethatrightand
youshouldn'tgetmadortakeitpersonally.

46.Whenforwardingemail,ifyoucannottakethetimetotypeapersonal
commenttothepersonyouareforwardingtothendon'tbother.

47.Don'tforwardanythingwithouteditingoutalltheforwarding>>>>,other
emailaddresses,headersandcommentaryfromalltheotherforwarders.

48.Ifyoumustforwardtomorethanoneperson,putyouremailaddressinthe
TO:fieldandalltheothersyouaresendingtointheBCc:fieldtoprotecttheir
emailaddressfrombeingpublishedtothosetheydonotknow.Thisisa
seriousprivacyissue!

49.Becarefulwhenforwardingemailonpoliticalorcontroversialissues.The
recipientmaynotappreciateyourpointofview.

F. EmailandPerception,Privacy,Copyright

50.Chooseyouremailaddresswisely.Itwilldetermine,inpart,howyouare
perceived.

51.Trynottomakeassumptionswhenitcomestoemail.Alwaysaskfor
clarificationbeforeyoureact.

52.Postingorforwardingofprivateemailiscopyrightinfringementnotto
mentiondownrightrude.Youneedpermissionfromtheauthorfirst!

53.Eventhoughitisn'tright;emailsareforwardedtoothers.Keepthisinmind
whentypingaboutemotionalorcontroversialtopics.

54.Whenthereisamisunderstandingbyemail,don'thesitatetopickuptheold
fashionedtelephonetoworkthingsout!

55.Knowthathowyoutype,andtheeffortsyoumakeordon'tmakewillindicate
whatisimportanttoyouandifyouareaneducatedcourteousperson.

56.Ifyouforwardanemailthatturnsouttobeahoax,havethematuritytosend
anapologyfollowupemailtothoseyousentthemisinformationto.

57.WhenfillingoutacontactformonaWebsite,dosocarefullyandwithclarity
soyourrequestistakenseriously.

58.IfafriendputsyouremailaddressintheTo:fieldwithothersyoudonot
know,askthemtonolongerexposeyouraddresstostrangerswithoutyour
permission.

G. BusinessEmail

59.Thinkofyourbusinessemailasthoughitwasonyourbusinessletterheadand
you'llnevergowrong!

60.Ifyoucannotrespondtoanemailpromptly,attheveryleastemailback
confirmingyourreceiptandwhenthesendercanexpectyourresponse.

61.Emailingsiteownersaboutyourproductorservicethroughthesiteformisstill
spam.Askthemiftheywantmoreinfofirst!

62.Whenreplyingtoemailsalwaysrespondpromptlyandeditoutunnecessary
informationfromthepostyouarerespondingto.

63.Formalityisinplaceasacourtesyandreflectsrespect.Assumethehighest
levelofformalitywithnewemailcontactsuntiltherelationshipdictates
otherwise.Refrainfromgettingtooinformaltoosooninyouremail
communications.

64.Neversendanyoneanemailtheyneedtounsubscribefromwhentheydidn't
subscribeinthefirstplace!

65.BeverycarefulhowyouuseReplytoAllandCc:inabusinessenvironment.
DoingsoforCYAortosubtletytattlecanbackfireandhaveyoureviewedas
pettyorinsecure.

66.WhenreplyingtoanemailwithmultiplerecipientsnotedintheTo:orCc:
fields,removetheaddressesofthosewhoyourreplydoesnotapplyto.

67.Neversendbusinessattachmentsoutsideofbusinesshoursandconfirmthat
theformatinwhichyoucansendcanbeopenedbytheotherside.

H. Chat,IM,Texting

68.WentTextingorparticipatinginIMandChat,trynottobeoverlycrypticor
yourmeaningcanbemisread.

69.UseInstantMessaging(IM)forcasualtopicsorinformationalbriefs.IMisnot
theplaceforserioustopicsorconfrontationalissues.

70.StartbyalwaysaskingifthepersonyouareIMingisavailableandifitisagood
timetochat.RefrainfromIMingduringmeetingsorwhenyourattentionis
required.

71.Practicecommunicatingbrieflyandsuccinctly.

72.AlwaysconsiderifcallingtheotherpartyonthephoneisbetterwhenTexting
aboutsensitivetopics.

73.IMingisnotanexcusetoforgetyourgradeschooleducation.

74.Ifyouarenotasmoothmultitasker,donotcontinuemultipleIMsessionsand
leavefolkshangingwhileyoucommunicatewithothers.

75.LearnhowtousethefeaturesofyourIMprogram.Specificallyyoure"busy"
and"away"messagefeatures.

76.NeverIMunderanaliastotakeapeekatfriends'orassociates'activities.

77.Takeintoconsiderationwhoyouarecommunicatingwithtodeterminethe
acronymsandemoticonsthatshouldbeusedifatall.

I. SocialMedia,BlogsandForums

78.KeepinmindwhenTweeting,onFacebookormessageboardsthatyouarein
aglobalarena.

79.Whendiscussionsgetoutofcontrol;don'tstooptonamecallingor
profanities.Youarebetterthanthat!

80.Inforums,keepyoursignaturefiletonomorethan23lines.

81.Keepcommercialismtonomorethanalinkattheendofyourcommentor
contribution.

82.Stayontopicanddiscussissuesonlyrelativetothethread/topicinquestion.

83.Ifnewtoagrouporforum,"lurk"forawhiletogetafeelforthecommunity
andpersonalitiesoftheregularsbeforeyoupost.

84.Nevergiveoutpersonalinformationorspecificstoyourlocationononline
norshouldyougiveoutthepersonalinformationofothers!

85.Keepinmindtherewillalwaysbedifferencesofopinion.Trytoremain
objectiveandnotpersonalizeissues.

86.Don'tfallfortrolls.Trollsarefolkswhowillpostrudecommentsjusttogeta
riseoutofeveryone.

87.Besuretodownedit,orremoveanypartofthepostyouarereplyingtothatis
nolongernecessarytotheongoingconversation.

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J. EmailConsiderations...

88.Beforegettingupsetbecauseyouperceivesomeonedidn'trespond,checkto
seeiftheirreplywasinadvertentlydeletedorsenttoTrashorJunkfolder.

89.Withemotionallychargedemails,waituntilthenextmorningtoseeifyoufeel
thesamebeforeclickingSend.

90.FeelfreetomodifytheSubject:fieldtomoreaccuratelyreflecta
conversation'sdirection.

91.Whenitcomestoyouremailcommunications,knowwhoyoucantrust;trust
onlythoseyouknow.

92.TakethetimetorevieweachemailbeforeclickingSendtoensureyour
messageisclearandyouarerelayingthetonethatyoudesire.

93.Neveruseanoldemailtohitreply&starttypingaboutanentirelynewtopic.

94.Regardlessofhownobleaforwardedemailmaybe,don'tjustforwardwithout
investigatingitsauthenticity@Snopes.com.

95.AlwaysaddtheemailaddressesofWebsitesandnewcontactsimmediatelyto
yourapprovedsendersoraddressbooksotheygetthroughSpamfilters.

96.BeforecompletingaWebsite'sContactform;makeanefforttoreviewthesite
tobesuretheinformationyouseekisnotalreadyavailable.

97.TakeaquicklookattheemailsinyourTrashbeforeyoudeletethemjustin
caseagoodemaillandedtherebymistake.

98.Ifanyemailstatestoforwardtoallyourfriends,orjust5peopledo
everyoneafavorandjusthitdelete!

99.Don'tmassemailpeoplewhodidn'tasktobeonyourpersonal"mailinglist".

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100. Doublecheckthatyouradware,spywareandvirusprogramsaresetto
automaticallyupdateatleastonceeachweeksothesoftwareknowswhatto
protectyoufrom.

101. Andfinally...Typeuntoothersasyouwouldhavethemtypeuntoyou!

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