Here are some good guidelines when communicating with email.
| Things to avoid | How to prevent |
|---|---|
| Sending pornography of any kind to someone's workplace. | This is so tacky. In the United States (at least), you can get fired for sexual harassment for receiving pornography at work. |
| Sending pornography to anyone without letting them know first. | You never know, their spouse or kid may read the email. |
| Using foul language in email lists. | Come on, email lists are public. Act like you are in a public place. |
| Sending very large files through email without letting the guy on the other end know. | First, it can be very slow to unexpectedly receive a 1mb AVI file over email. Second, it can fill up a mailbox, resulting in other, important email not being received. |
| Sending out any kind of pyramid scheme to everyone. | These are ALWAYS illegal (regardless of what they say) and don't work. They also use up bandwidth and computer resources. |
| Subject lines which go on and on and on. | Please use the body of the message for your message and the header for a brief description. |
| Virus Hoaxes. | Be sure you know it's real before you send word about it to everyone you know. |
| Subject's that have nothing to do with the message. | This is a favorite tactic of spammers and these messages tend to just get deleted without reading. |
| Not including a subject at all. | Another tactic of spammers and newbies. Please include a subject - it helps people by giving them a little information before they read the main text. It also helps people sort and categorize their emails. |
| Posting anything that is infected with a virus or Trojan horse. | Keep your virus scanner up to date and use it regularly. |
| Posting any kind of stolen software. | People deserve to be compensated for their efforts. Stealing, even of small shareware programs and games, is illegal and is a criminal act. |
| Demanding help from anyone on the net and then getting upset because you don't get it. | People are busy and don't owe you anything. If you ask nicely you might get help, but it is not owed. |
| Posting anything without acknowledging the source. | Even if you have permission, it is generally considered good form to note where the item came from with a link or a short sentence. This does not apply to collections that you purchase unless noted in the terms and conditions. |
| Typing in all caps. | Shouting is rude. |
We are enrolled in a large number of email lists of various kinds: Egroups.Com and Topica.Com are among the companies who host these services. It can be very useful to receive information this way. What happens is several dozen to several hundred (or more) people sign up for the list so that they can take part in online discussions of certain topics.
As I said, these can be very informative - and they can also be very entertaining.
What often happens is someone will post a remark of some kind and he will get flamed (a hostile response, often involving cursing). The two will start throwing comments back and forth, and before long others jump in to add their two cents.
I've seen these "wars" go on for days and hundreds (and in some cases thousands) of posts (usually this kind of abuse occurs on newsgroups - people who are receiving emails of this kind of nonsense usually protest and put a stop to it much more quickly.)
What is really happening is sometimes it is difficult to understand that something said in email (hence in writing) automatically takes on more force than something said orally. On top of that, people will say things in email that they would never dream of saying to someone's face.
What people really need to remember is email etiquette. There are some simple "rules" to follow which will make email communications much simpler.
Think for a second before sending your email. I usually take an extra couple of seconds to ask myself "how would I react if I got this message?"
Don't say anything in email you would not say to a person's face.
Don't write anything in an email message which you would not want repeated to your boss, wife or best friend.
Don't type in all caps (this is interpreted as shouting).
It's a good idea to avoid cursing
Don't respond to flames
Don't get involved in flame wars
You are well advised to resist the opportunity to call that person with the naive questions a babbling idiot.
Keep your cool
Don't give out anyone's personal information (including his email address, address or phone number).
If you are sending to a number of people, use Blind Carbon copy.
And please, most important of all, remember that you are dealing with human beings, not emotionless machines. Sometimes a carelessly worded email can hurt more than anything else.
Themestream Comments
Excellent advice. Thanks. - kokab rahman
I've been involved in uh...several flame wars on lists. Why? They were trying to tell me what I could and couldn't say when it came to an opinion of mine and anyone who knows me knows I'll not make myself comfortable to suit anyone. It seems common sense that one wouldn't say anything in e-mail that they'd not say in person, but unfortunately many people on line are cowards. It's so much easier to flame with the use foul language because in real life they'd get slugged. Online, many people don't seem to get it that there are actual people on the other side of the text box who have feelings and go out of their way to be foul. Maybe if people were taught not to be obnoxious in real life, no one would have to worry about using e-mail etiquette. They'd already be nice. - Lisa Godin
Lisa, that's an excellent point. People should learn to have manners and respect other's no matter how they are communicating. - Richard Lowe
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