Tech Lab

BY PAMELA BIR

Mind Your Electronic Manners: E-mail Etiquette

Pamela Bir How did we ever live without e-mail? This electronic marvel has become so much a part of our business and personal lives that we almost take it for granted. Like all things in life, e-mail does come with its own set of rules — spoken and unspoken. Here are a few tips for polishing your "netiquette" skills.

Treat E-mail Confidentially

Just because somebody sends you information or ideas, don't assume that you have their permission to reproduce that information in a public forum (discussion group, newsgroup, chat site, etc.) or even with other members of a project team. E-mail is designed for personal communication. Always assume that e-mail you receive has a big "private" stamp on it. Even simply forwarding an e-mail to a friend could be considered a breach of trust by the original sender. Ask before you forward.

E-mail Addresses Are Just as Confidential as Phone Numbers

Would you publish a list of all of your best friends' cell phone numbers? Of course not! So why would you publish their e-mail addresses? Always use the BCC (blind carbon copy) field instead. That way, people will only see their own e-mail address on your message. Outlook 2003 and 2007 will allow you to send a message with a blank "To:" field, or you can put your own address there.

If the message you received contains e-mail addresses, delete those from your message when you forward.

This simple step can help cut spam and identity theft. People "harvest" those e-mail addresses for no-permission marketing, spamming or other nefarious purposes.

What You Write Can Come Back to Haunt You

Even if you delete personal messages from your inbox, chances are the message is backed up somewhere on your hard drive or the company network where it can be retrieved. So use e-mail wisely, especially company email. Freedom of speech is a protected right, but that right is limited when you're on a company computer. Remember how Oliver North's deleted messages showed up at his trial? Be aware of your company's e-mail policy but also use this as a guide: "If my boss walked in the door right now, would I want this message to be on my screen?"

Company Policy

Every company should have an e-mail policy that clearly states what types of e-mails can be sent within the office, to clients and to vendors. Explain what subjects are acceptable for discussion on company e-mails. You may want to designate a company jokester who receives all the jokes and forwards one a day to the staff. This will cut down on everyone forwarding every joke to everyone.

What You See Is What You Get

Communication between humans is approximately 90 percent body language, 8 percent tone of voice and 2 percent what is actually said. With e-mail, you remove the first 98 percent. Take this into consideration when you write e-mails. Beware sarcasm! Avoid confusion! Remember this too when reading others' e-mails.

For personal e-mail, if you want to use special backgrounds, fancy fonts and lots of color, that's OK. But remember that all the colors, fonts and formatting can make your e-mails more difficult to read on the other side. "If you wouldn't use a font or logo on business letterhead, you shouldn't use it in business e-mail either," advises Judith Kallos, author of Because Netiquette Matters (Xlibris, 2004). And ask yourself if the eye candy helps your message. There is a point to your e-mail, right? Don't rely on smiley faces to explain it. Build your vocabulary and make sure your message is clearly understood.

Why is e-mail the communication type most likely to be misunderstood? "As a culture, we haven't had to rely on our written skills for decades," says Kallos. "But now, there's no way around it. If you want to use e-mail effectively, learn and practice. E-mail is not an anything-goes environment."

Do's and Don'ts

Do use the subject line. Blank subject lines are more likely to go into the spam box or junk mail and they don't help your recipient judge the value and importance of your message. Which would you read first: an e-mail with a blank subject line, or one with the subject "You have been awarded a new contract"?
Do think carefully before clicking Reply All. Are you sure you want to reply to the whole list?
Do remember to tell people the format of any attachments you send if they're anything other than basic Microsoft Office file types. Help them open your attachment easily.
Do copy the original author if you forward a message to somebody else to deal with, so they know who to expect a reply from.
Don't forward virus warnings — ever. They frequently contain a virus. That's a hacker's idea of a good joke.
Don't forward chain letters, sad stories or long PowerPoint shows of beautiful pictures to business colleagues. (Personally, I would say don't do this to anyone ever! Have you ever heard someone say, "I wish I'd get more of those 10-minute photo shows or more requests for money"? No. Never.) Trust me, they'll get the same message from someone else. At least once.
Don't send large attachments without asking permission. Maybe the recipient is still on dial-up and doesn't want to wait 90 minutes for the download. But even T1 users may prefer to receive large files via FTP or other means instead of risking corruption with e-mail transmissions.
Don't forward a message about even a worthwhile cause like Free Rice (http://freerice.com) without checking at www.snopes.com to be sure it is a legitimate site.
Don't forward jokes if you do not absolutely, positively know the recipient would regret not hearing it. P.S. Forwarding a joke to me is not the same thing as communicating with me. Communication requires input. So even the best joke doesn't replace an occasional "Hi! How are you?" message.

Bottom line with e-mail: There's a human on the other end of the message. Be nice!

Web Sites for More Information

www.dynamoo.com/technical/etiquette.htm
www.onlinenetiquette.com
www.albion.com/netiquette
www.learnthenet.com/english/html/65mailet.htm
www.emailaddresses.com/guide_etiquette.htm

Pamela Bir is principal of Your Computer Lady, a Phoenix,Arizona–based firm that handles PowerPoint presentations, Spanish translations, Web site development and maintenance, marketing literature and more. For more information, visit www.YourComputerLady.com or reach her at Pamela@YourComputerLady.com.