Email Etiquette

Composing a message

Email Addresses

When typing in an email address, double-check it to
make sure its spelled correctly.

Subject lines

Make sure that the subject of your message is clear
and descriptive of the messages content.

Dont flag a message as Important if its not
important.

Salutations

Begin an email with a salutation such as Dear ___ or even just Hello. This is
considered more friendly than just starting into your message.

Message size, clarity, and content

Keep your email messages short and to the point. Most people find it awkward reading
from a computer screen, and some may not read a long message.

Proof read your message to make sure that it says what you intend. Also check for
grammar and spelling mistakes.

Clarify anything that might be misunderstood.

Remember when you send email asking for help (e.g.
technical support) to tell them all the error codes and
problems you are having with your system. In this case,
there is no such thing as telling too much.

Don't send off-topic messages to mailing lists.

FYI: Using common abbreviations is acceptable, but remember that the reader may not
know what a particular abbreviation means.



Tone of Voice

Email strips away all nonverbal cues that identify your attitude. Emoticons (emotion
icons) are used to express your tone of voice.

Most common emoticons (tilt your head to the left to see the facial expressions):
:-) Smiley face
;-) Wink/joke
:-( Frown/sad
:-D Shock/surprise

Uppercase letters

Reading a message in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is awkward since we read by skimming
the shapes of the letters, particularly the tops of letters, rather than identifying individual
letters and piecing them together as words.

Also, don't use all capital letters as this is rude and considered shouting.

HTML

Avoid sending messages in HTML format unless you are sure the receivers email
program can read them properly. Otherwise, the message may appear garbled to them, or
they may not receive it at all.

Signatures

Just like a regular letter you can sign your email with an electronic signature. This is
useful because it is not always clear who sent the email. It should include information
such as your name, title, phone number, address, etc. Try to keep it shorter than 6 lines.

Attachments

Avoid sending email attachments whenever possible.
Their large file size creates a stress on the receivers
email server, and they may pose a virus threat. Also,
some email servers will delete attachments
automatically, so the receiver never even sees them. If
you are sending an attachment, state clearly in the
message that you are doing so.

If you must send an attachment larger than about 30
KB, ask the receivers permission first since a larger
attachment can crash some email servers.



Replying & Forwarding

General

Reply to a message by including a portion of the original message to provide context for
your response.

Do not forward email messages without the originators permission.

Don't reply-to-all unless they all need to see your reply.

Blind Carbon Copies (BCC)

If you are sending an email to a large number of people, put their addresses into the
BCC field rather than the To or CC fields. This is for two reasons:
Each recipients email address remains private since it is concealed from the other
recipients.
Some email programs include the entire recipient list in the text of the message,
and the list can be longer than the message itself

Junk Email

Do not send junk mail, including jokes, chain letters, get rich quick messages, and so
on, unless you have the receivers explicit permission to do so.

Flames

A flame is a verbal attack in electronic form. If
someone has sent an email message that offends
you, resist the temptation to reply in kind.
Flame wars are not pretty.

Don't send email when you are upset as you
might say something that you will regret. Wait
until you cool off.


Other

Printing

Save a Tree: Before you print a message ask yourself this question "Do I need it printed
or can I just put it in a folder in my email program for later viewing?" Most of the time
you will find that you don't need to print the message. Back up your email files regularly
to ensure you dont lose your saved files.


References:

Croft J. CJNetWorks. Tips and Tricks: Email Etiquette.
http://www.cjnetworks.com/features/email.html

Hayward E. Emailaddresses.com. Email Etiquette.
http://www.emailaddresses.com/guide_etiquette.htm

Lowe R, Arevalo-Lowe C. Internet Tips and Secrets. "Email Etiquette."
http://www.internet-tips.net/Email/etiquette.htm

MySask.com. Email Etiquette.
http://www.mysask.com/community/saskatoon/lifestyle/business/email.shtml

Pirillo C. Writers Write. E-mail Etiquette (Netiquette).
http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/dec99/pirillo1.htm

WinStar. Email Etiquette.
http://support.ici.net/email/etiquette.html

By Louisa Fricker
2002 Centre for Health Evidence