Email Netiquette

Monday, Mar 17, 2003

Email can be a very informal means of communicating in the business world. In many cases, email is your first contact with a possible client, employer, or future contact. Thus, it's important to make a good impression.

When utilizing email, there are some important guidelines and established social norms that are important to follow.

First, you must always remember that there is a human on the receiving end. While email has become widely used to replace a phone call, handshake or face to face meeting, it doesn't completely remove the necessity for a human touch to the communication. Due to its quick, off-the-cuff nature, it's not always easy to remember this when you are only interacting with the computer in front of you. Just remember the golden rule -- never send an email written in a tone or a style that you wouldn't want to receive yourself.

On the receiving end, don't make assumptions when reading an email. Because there are no physical cues or voice inflection, it is easy to mis-judge the tone of the receiving email. Be especially careful when reading sarcasm or irony into a message when it may not be present.

As the sender, be sure to avoid phrases which might be misconstrued -- or follow these phrases with a term such as "LOL" (laughing out loud) or ":)" (smiley) to give the cue to the reader that the preceding was meant with a smile or a laugh.

Any email that you send is a direct reflection of yourself and your company. Thus, though email style is less formal than a traditional letter, it is still vital to use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Proper use of the language is critical in conveying the perception that you are a thoughtful, careful individual. Your email is a direct reflection on how the person on the other end perceives you and your company.

In email, be aware that the use of all capitals is the equivalent of shouting. Just as you wouldn't shout when talking to someone on the telephone, please don't shout all the time when sending an email. Use proper grammar when typing messages, capitalizing the first letter of each sentence. Messages written without proper case are harder to read and less effective at expressing emotion to the reader.

Subject lines are an important, and often overlooked, component of email. Many people use subject lines to categorize and prioritize their incoming mail. Thus, be sure to use a clear, concise, and descriptive email that quickly summarizes the contents of your message. Don't simply leave the email blank, or use a short, non-useful email subject such as "hey" or "notes". In addition, don't start your email message in the subject line and continue it into the body of the email. This can be confusing to the reader, who expects the subject to simply be an indicator for the overall message, not part of its content.

Email is best-suited to sending short, textual messages. As its usage has expanded, however, many people use it for a conveyance for files. Be aware that the person on the other end may have a completely different setup from you, though, and might be limited in the size of files that they can receive, have to endure a long download on a dial-up modem connection, or have other problems with compatibility of files. Whenever possible, try to use a different method for transferring files, such as a local network, a website upload module, or an ftp site. If you do send files via email, be sure to compress large or multiple files using a ZIP program or its equivalent to reduce the total file size that the user must download.

Do not continue or forward email hoaxes. Email hoaxes are messages that contain information that is mostly -- if not completely -- untrue. They are passed around the Internet by well meaning people, but are an annoyance to most. Don't add to the junk that's out there! Remember the old adage that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you're not sure, be sure to check out one of the following hoax reporting sites:

Finally, Never Spam. Repeating this: Never Spam. Spamming is sending out unsolicited bulk email. Not only is it a violation of the usage policies of most ISPs, it is also a nuisance to the recipient and imposes a monetary cost burden on the infrastructure of the Internet. Recent studies indicate that spam makes up over 40% of the email volume on the internet and is rapidly growing. It overwhelms legitimate communication and reduces the value of email for everyone. Think before you send that message: would you want to receive an unsolicited email of this nature? If you wouldn't, then just don't send it!