Harness E-mail: E-Mail Etiquette: Page 2

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Don't write anything you wouldn't say in public. Anyone can easily forward your message, even accidentally. This could leave you in an embarrassing position if you divulged confidential information, made a nasty comment about someone or circulated an off-color joke. If you don't want to potentially share something you write, consider using the telephone. Use a smiley to make sure that a statement is not misunderstood. Smileys are typically used in personal e-mail and are not considered appropriate for business. Insert them judiciously in office e-mail. If your message needs a smiley for better understanding, most likely you should not be delivering it via e-mail. Even with a smiley, someone may misconstrue your message. Use smileys to support a statement. It's rude to write something mean or derogatory, then place a happy smiley at the end of the sentence. Refer to the Smiley article for a list of commonly used ones. Avoid sending e-mail to large numbers of people unless you have a legitimate reason to do it. E-mail sent to many recipients may be considered spam. Avoid nasty e-mail. These messages have their own term: flame. Flame e-mail is an insulting message designed to cause pain, as when someone "gets burned." As a courtesy to your recipient, include your name at the bottom of the message. The message contains your e-mail address in the header, but the recipient may not know that the sender's address is yours, especially if it's different from your real name. Check Your Spelling To make sure your message isn't compromised by misspelled words, use your e-mail program's built-in spell checker. For more tips, visit Emailreplies.com. E-mail etiquette may take a while to learn, but don't let your fear of making mistakes inhibit you. All Internet users were beginners once, so most people are quite forgiving. WATCH THIS... Back Last update: Jan 15, 2010 Explore More: Search the Web Learn the Net (www.learnthenet.com) is Copyright 1996-2010. Michael Lerner Productions. All Rights Reserved.