E-mail Etiquette

Do this when sending e-mail:

• Review messages before sending them to make sure you are really saying what you want to say.
• Be as polite as possible. Being abrupt or short can be taken as hostility.
• Think of a descriptive and relevant title to enter in the "Subject" field. Make it clear to the recipient what type of message you are sending, especially if it is official.
• If possible, include the portion of the message you are replying to in your reply. People often forget the original context.
• Before clicking "Send," double check what is entered in the "To" field. Ensure that your message is going to the person you intended.
• Give correspondents the benefit of the doubt; try not to assume the worst. You may read an e-mail in a negative way when it was not actually intended to cause harsh feelings.
• Be patient with inexperienced e-mail users. A message may have accidentally been sent to you because an inexperienced user replied to all rather than just the intended recipient.

Avoid this when sending e-mail:

• Do not send messages when you are angry. Cool down first, look at the message again, and then decide whether or not you really want to send it. Most e-mail programs let you save a message for sending at a later time.
• Do not reply to "all recipients" unless everyone needs to see your reply.
• Be careful when sending a message to a group of people. E-mail addresses are private and they should not be made visible to all those who receive your e-mail. Put addresses in the "BCC" field rather than the "To" field to keep them hidden.
• Do not type in all capital letters. This is equivalent to SHOUTING and is considered RUDE.
• Do not send jokes that could be offensive in any way to anybody.
• Never send jokes to coworkers or work-related e-mail groups.
• Do not send chain letters, including any e-mail that says you should forward it to all of your friends, to 10 people, or to everyone in your address book.
• Do not send messages recruiting participants in make-money-fast schemes. Some of these may be against the law.
• Do not edit quoted messages to change the overall meaning.
• Do not send an e-mail when a phone call would be faster and more effective.
• Remember that everything you say in an e-mail is a written record and could be used against you or your employer. All e-mail is a permanent record and deleted e-mail can be recovered.