Firing off something in the heat of the moment will only result in problems.ģ. If you’ve received an angry message or are feeling enraged yourself, step away from the computer for a few minutes. You want to make the right impression, and isn’t going to cut it.Ģ. If you’re sending from a personal address-for a job application or informational interview, for example-make sure your address is still professional sounding. For example, "relpied" instead of "replied" and "seach" instead of "search".Even if you ignore or forget every single other part of this article, at the very least make sure you’ve checked these boxes.ġ. These sections are by no means comprehensive, but they are enough to cover the basics, one is a list of acronyms (LOL, BRB, etc.) and what they stand for the other is a list of smiley faces and the emotions they represent.Īs a side note, I think someone skipped a section when editing this book because the grammatical errors that I found -although a few- were too close together. There are two good sections at the end of the book, that for those who might see them acronyms and emoticons being used but don't necessarily recognizes them is worth to look over. As an optional group, I'll recommend the book to anyone who wants to simply brush up on their etiquette, without expecting to learn something new. For example, I would recommend this book to two particular groups of people: the currently rising generation and people who have refrain from trying out the technology (my parents will be in this category). However, I do find that for people that have never (or very little) used emails in the past this book will give a good insight into how to have good email etiquette. So unfortunately there is nothing new that this book poses that I don't already know. I am currently 25 years old and I have been using emails, computers and internet since I was 13. That way, the privacy of the recipient is respected, and spammers cannot harvest the email addresses for their dastardly purposes. If you're sending email to a whole list of people, put their email addresses in the BCC field. Use the BCC field when sending bulk email. Before sending a reminder, allow some time for a response, some times even a few days. E-mail messages are not usually required to be answered immediately, though it is good practice if you do. The longer you leave it to reply, the more likely you will forget or have too big a log-jam of unanswered email.Īllow time for a reply. In fact, get in the habit of replying immediately - it is the polite thing to do, and the recipient will appreciate a prompt reply. Try to reply within 24 hours, less if possible. If the sense of the email will be lost by deleting that text, however, leave it in. No-one wants to scroll down through pages of text in order to reach the message they want to read. This includes deleting any irrelevant text when an email has been back and forth several times. Keep messages brief and to the point, but not so brief that it causes the problem outlined in the previous point. May I ask for an extension on the basis that I was too ill to do it on time? I was ill and have a doctor's certificate. For example, don't say can I have an extension for my assignment?, instead say I refer to the CIT3622 assignment 1 that I handed in late. If in doubt, put background information in. Include enough contextual information at the beginning of the e-mail for the recipient to know what the matter is about. For example, Instead of Subject: Exam, say Subject: Location of 1508INT Exam, 23 July 2011.ĭon't assume the recipient knows the background. Ask yourself, 'will the recipient(s) know what this e-mail is about'. Make the Subject line summarise the body of the e-mail. Treat people the way you would want to be treated yourself.īy following the principles outlined below, the recipient of your email will be more likely to read and act, if not be favorably impressed by your message: As a general rule though, netiquette involves the same principles as plain old etiquette - basic courtesy, respect and ethics. So beware people telling you there is one right way, they are assuming too much. While there have been attempts to establish one standard or another as the default, there is no common agreement. There are no 'official' rules governing electronic communication.
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