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Last updated January 1, 2014

Email Etiquette Primer

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Melissa Kaplan

 

Just because email is so easy to create and send does not mean it's okay to be thoughtless and inconsiderate when composing and forwarding emails.

1.
  Do I really need to send this email?
2.
  Did I use an appropriate subject line?
3.
  Did I get to my point quickly enough without sounding rude?
4.
  Is my wording as clear as it can be?
5.
  Did I say too much and veer away from what's really important?
6.
  Did I get my facts straight?
7.
  Did I use correct capitalization, grammar and punctuation?
8.
  Did I make a joke and is it appropriate? Might it still fall flat when it lands on someone else's screen?
9.
  Did I TYPE ALL IN CAPS or did i type all in lower case?
10.
  Did I put a blank line in between each paragraph, and one or two blank spaces between sentences?
11.
  Did I check my spelling?
12.
  Did I read what I wrote after I finished composing it?
13.
  Do I really believe that asking people to send back to me an email I sent them proves that I love them, and if they don't send it back, it proves they don't love me?
14.
  Did I delete all the email addresses off of improperly forwarded email I received before I forward it to others?
15.
  Did I forward the actual email, or create yet another layer of crap my recipients will have to wade through?
16.
  Did I respect my friends' privacy by putting their email addresses in the BCC field, not in the TO or CC fields?
17.
  Did I delete headers, footers, and other nonessential quoted text and >s from my response?

The same email etiquette applies to posting on email lists and message boards.

Email, message boards and forums are not texting or instant messaging.

Writing--whether with pen on paper or pixels on a screen--is a lovely way to communicate thoughts, ideas, and who we are. What does your email say about you?


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