E-mail etiquettes

ELECTRONIC MAIL, or e-mail, is well-known among many people for its innumerable advantages. Ask any novice Internet user and the virtues of e-mail will start flowing in: it is quicker to type, more convenient, reaches its destination more quickly and the list goes on. Most of the people are all too happy that they don’t, in many cases, have to adhere to the usual hassle of checking spelling and grammar. Instead, they’re more relaxed in e-mail interaction. What most people don’t realize is that even though no one is very rigid about spelling and grammar mistakes with e-mail, a breach of the code of e-mail etiquette can be a serious offence, especially if you’re sending a formal e-mail. So what are all those necessary rules which constitute e-mail etiquette in today’s e-correspondence?

One web site to start your quest for the answer to the above question is http:// www.emailreplies.com/. This is one web site dedicated to e-mail etiquette. After explaining the reasons why e-mail etiquette is so important, it gives you 32 rules of etiquette. These rules are explained in detail as well. Some of these rules include instructions to give a personal touch to e-mail, be to the point, refrain from forwarding chain letters, avoid discussion of controversial subjects through e-mail and avoid run-on sentences. This web site also includes links to paid disclaimer software and replies tools which you can use to spruce up your e-mail management skills. In the end, there are loads of links to similar websites around the Internet.

Another useful web site which claims to tell you how to make a positive impact when sending e-mail is at http://www.emailaddresses.com/guide_etiquette.htm. It has some different tips to offer from the above web sites. For instance, did you know that you should never write e-mail addresses of all your friends in the “To” line since this exposes them to possible spam? Or do you realize that if you quote large chunks of text from the original e-mail with a one-line reply, it gets really irritating? This web site has all such kinds of advice and more.

This web site, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/pw/p_emailett.html, speaks of e-mail etiquette mainly from the academic point of view. But nonetheless, there is some very useful stuff here as well. For instance, some pertinent questions like ‘when should you not send e-mail?’ are discussed. The concept of e-mail flaming is discussed in detail as well, with instructions to strictly refrain from it. There is also a section of how long the e-mails should be — another useful question. You can access more e-mail etiquette at http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/65mailet.htm. Apart from what you have already read, this one delves on the broader aspect of e-mail etiquette. Using smilies in the appropriate places, avoiding nasty e-mails and avoiding all capital letters are some of the tips it gives out.

I know this may sound incredulous, but obeying some rules of e-mail etiquette may mean breaking some rules of grammar. “A Beginner’s Guide to Effective Email” at http://www.webfoot.com/advice/email.top.html is a very comprehensive web site, detailing the minute aspects of e-mail. In particular the “Format section” argues that you must be very careful about the technicalities of the e-mail software you and the recipient of your e-mail are using. Yep, you cannot in many cases confirm that they are compatible with each other. But the trick of the trade is to play it safe. For that, you must try not to use punctuation marks too frequently, format your text too much or type in URLs without “http.” Formatting the text essentially refers to underlining the text, changing the colours and using fancy fonts. Remember that even if you do break these rules, your e-mail will reach its destination in a total mess. And it won’t create a very good impression either. Apart from that, there is a useful section on what makes e-mail different from conventional means of communication, the importance of useful subject lines and proper greetings and signatures.

Did you know that your career may actually depend on how well you write your e-mails? Check out http://careerplanning.about.com/library/weekly/aa050401a.htm whose first pages answers this question in the affirmative. Poorly written e-mails create a very bad impression on the prospective employer. The next three pages go on to brief you about the important things to bear in mind while interacting through e-mail. Specifically it talks about using the right tone, minding your manners, keeping to the point, not using abbreviations whose meanings are not well-known, and minding your spelling and grammar. Yep, that’s really important to remember: your friend may forgive a few mistakes there, but a prospective employer or your professor certainly won’t.

Now, it is time to test yourself. Did you actually learn something from the above web sites? Netiquette Quizzes at http://www.20ishparents.com/archives/net1.shtml and http://www.bucks.edu/distance/dlresources/etiquette.htm

Are two places to find out where you stand for yourself. There is also a Yahoo Mail Netiquette Quiz at http://rc.yahoo.com/promotions/netiquette/ for the same purpose. These quizzes include MCQs as well as situations designed to test your knowledge as well as understanding.

In the end, http://www.dynamoo.com/technical/etiquette.htm offers a quick checklist of do’s and don’t’s concerned with e-mail. It would be a very good idea to print it out and stick it somewhere near your PC so you don’t forget it in a hurry.