Email Etiquette

Emailing is such a part of our lives, but all too often many of us are a bit too slap-dash in its use and we make embarrassing blunders. Here’s a few basic tips to stop you from tripping up. (No particular order of importance – they’re all important!!)

1.    Refrain from using the Reply to All feature to give your opinion to those who may not be interested. Replying to the Sender alone is often the best.

2.    Just because someone doesn't ask for a response doesn't mean you ignore them. Always acknowledge emails from those you know in a suitable manner.

3.    Be sure the Subject field accurately reflects the content of your email. Also select the subject name carefully as spam filters look at subject titles  moving them into junk or trash folders. Titles like “You are a Winner”, “Newsletter”, “Please Read This” and the use of numbers and Symbols should be avoided. Also avoid words like; free, money, win, degree, gift, deal, sign-up, survey.

4.    Always include a brief Subject. No subject can get your email marked as spam.

5.    Do not type in ALL IN CAPS. That's like yelling at the person.

6.    Do not use patterned backgrounds. I makes your email harder to read.

7.    Stay away from fancy or unusual fonts, use only the standard fonts which will be on most computers.

8.    Typing your emails in all small case gives the perception of lack of education or laziness, use correct punctuation and grammar, as you would in any written correspondence.  

9.    When sending large attachments, always "zip" or compress them before sending.

10.    Learn how to resize graphics/photos to about 600 pixels in width before attaching them to an email. This will greatly reduce download time for the recipient.

11.    It is better to spread multiple attachments over several emails rather than attaching them all to one email - avoids clogging the “pipeline”.

12.    Make sure the recipient has the same software as you before sending attachments or they may not be able to open your attachment. Use PDF when possible, as its fairly universal.

13.    Only use Cc: when it is important for those you Cc: to know about the contents of the email. Overuse can cause your emails to be ignored.

14.    Don't use Return Receipt (RR) on every single email. Doing so is viewed as annoying and can be declined by the recipient anyway.

15.    Never expose your friend's or contact's email address to strangers by listing them all in the To: field. Use BCc (Blind Carbon Copy) recipients will not be able to see each other’s email addresses.

16.    If a friend puts your e-mail address in the To field with others you do not know, ask them to no longer expose your address to strangers without your permission.

17.    Before getting upset because you think someone didn't respond, check to see if their reply was inadvertently deleted or sent to your Junk/Trash folder.

18.    Take a quick look at the e-mails in your Trash before you delete them just in case a “good” e-mail arrived there by mistake.

19.    When sending an email to several people, limit the number of recipients to no more than 20 (say) at a time. Many Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) have rules in place that count such emails to multiple addresses as spam and could delete them.

20.    Make one last check that the address or addresses in the To: field are those you wish to send your reply to. Many a mistake is made with people of same or similar names.

Kindly supplied by Grant Sidaway, SeniorNet.

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