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FYI


Electronic Mail Etiquette
Some musings by David Harris. (Author of Pegasus Mail)
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This document presents some simple guidelines for electronic mail
etiquette. It does not try to mandate any particular style or rules
- it is instead an attempt to highlight important issues which affect
the clarity of the electronic mail we send. After all, electronic
mail is about communication, so clarity should be our goal.

This list is in no particular order.

Addresses and personal names
----------------------------

A "Personal name" is an arbitrary string that many mailers will
allow you to define, which is attached to your e-mail address as a
textual comment.

*  Always provide a personal name if your mail system allows it - a
   personal name attached to your address identifies you better than
   your address can on its own.

*  Use a sensible personal name: "Guess who" or other such phrases are
   annoying as personal names and hinder the recipient's quick
   recognition of you and your message.

*  If your mail system lets you use personal names in the addresses to
   which you send mail, try to use them. This will often help a
   postmaster recognize the real recipient of the message if the
   address is invalid.

   Example:
      The address '344188@foo.chaos.com' conveys less information
      than if it were written as '344188@foo.chaos.com (Ford Prefect)'


Subject lines
-------------

*  ALWAYS include a subject line in your message. Almost all mailers
present you with the subject line when you browse your mailbox, and
it's often the only clue the recipient has about the contents when
filing and searching for messages.

*  Make the subject line meaningful. For example, sending a message
to WordPerfect Technical Support with the subject "WordPerfect" is
practically as unhelpful as having no subject at all.

*  If you are replying to a message but are changing the subject of
the conversation, change the subject too - or better still, start a
new message altogether. The subject is usually the easiest way to
follow the thread of a conversation, so changing the conversation
without changing the subject can be confusing and can make filing
difficult.


Message Length, Content and Format
----------------------------------

*  Try to match your message length to the tenor of the
conversation: if you are only making a quick query, then keep it
short and to the point.

*  In general, keep to the subject as much as possible. If you need
to branch off onto a totally new and different topic then it's often
better to send a new message, which allows the recipient the option
of filing it separately.

*  Don't type your message in all-uppercase - it's extremely
difficult to read (although a short stretch of uppercase may serve to
emphasize a point heavily). Try to break your message into logical
paragraphs   and restrict your sentences to sensible lengths.

*  Use correct grammar and spelling. Electronic mail is all about
communication - poorly-worded and misspelt messages are hard to read
and potentially confusing. Just because electronic mail is fast does
not mean that it should be slipshod, yet the worst language- mashing
I have ever seen has been done in e-mail messages. If your words are
important enough to write, then they're also important enough to
write properly.

*  Avoid public "flames" - messages sent in anger. Messages sent in
the heat of the moment generally only exacerbate the situation and
are usually regretted later. Settle down and think about it for a
while before starting a flame war. (Try going and making yourself a
cup of coffee - it's amazing how much you can cool down even in that
short a time, besides which a cup of good coffee is a great
soother).


Replies
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*  Include enough of the original message to provide a context.
Remember that Electronic Mail is not as immediate as a telephone
conversation and the recipient may not recall the contents of the
original message, especially if he or she receives many messages each
day. Including the relevant section from the original message helps
the recipient to recall the context of the discussion.

*  Include only the minimum you need from the original message. One
of the most annoying things you can encounter in e-mail is to have
your original 5-page message quoted back at you in its entirety, with
the words "Me too" added at the bottom. Quote back only the smallest
amount you need to make your context clear.

*  Use some kind of visual indication to distinguish between text
quoted from the original message and your new text - this makes the
reply much easier to follow. ">" is a traditional marker for quoted
text, but you can use anything provided its purpose is clear and you
use it consistently.

*  Pay careful attention to where your reply is going to end up: it
can be embarrassing for you if a personal message ends up on a
mailing list, and it's generally annoying for the other list members.

*  Ask yourself if your reply is really warranted - a message sent
to a list server which only says "I agree" is probably better sent
privately to the person who originally sent the message.


Signatures
----------

A "Signature" is a small block of text appended to the end of your
messages, which usually contains contact information for you. Many
mailers can add a signature to your messages automatically.
Signatures are a great idea but are subject to abuse; balance is the
key to a good signature.

*  Always use a signature if you can: make sure it identifies who
you are and includes alternative means of contacting you (phone and
fax are usual). In many systems, particularly where mail passes
through gateways, your signature may be the only means by which the
recipient can even tell who you are.

*  Keep your signature short - four to seven lines is a handy rule
of thumb for maximum signature length. Unnecessarily long signatures
waste bandwidth (especially when distributed to lists) and can be
annoying.

*  Some mailers allow you to add random strings to your signature:
this is well and good and can add character if done carefully. You
should consider the following basic rules though:

- Keep it short. The length of your quote adds to the length of your
signature. A 5,000 word excerpt from Kant's 'Critique of Pure Reason'
used as a signature will not win you many friends.

- Definitions of "offensive" vary widely: avoid quotes which might
offend people on the grounds of religion, race, politics or
sexuality.

- Try to avoid topical or local quotes, since they may be
meaningless to recipients in other towns, countries or cultures.

- Variable signatures are usually best if they're amusing; polemical
outbursts on politics or other such topics will turn most people off,
but a one-liner that brings a smile can make someone's day.


Courtesy
--------

Electronic mail is all about communication with other people, and as
such some basic courtesy never goes amiss.

*  If you're asking for something, don't forget to say Please.
Similarly, if someone does something for you, it never hurts to say
Thank You. While this might sound trivial, or even insulting, it's
astonishing how many people who are perfectly polite in everyday
life seem to forget their manners in their e-mail.

*  Don't expect an immediate answer. Just because you don't get an
answer from someone in ten minutes does not mean that he or she is
ignoring you, and is no cause for offence. Electronic mail is all
about dealing with your communications when you are able to do so.

*  Always remember that there is no such thing as a secure mail
system. It is unwise to send very personal or sensitive information
by e- mail unless you encrypt it using a reliable encryptor. Remember
the recipient - you are not the only person who could be embarrassed
if a delicate message falls into the wrong hands.


"Smiley faces" (Emoticons)
--------------------------

Electronic mail has very nearly the immediacy of a conversation, but
is totally devoid of "body language". The Internet "counter culture"
has had an answer to this problem for years - "smiley faces", or
groups of ASCII characters which are meant to look like a face turned
on its side.

The most common smiley faces are probably these:

:-) or :)    A smiling face seen side-on; generally used to indicate
             amusement, or that a comment is intended to be funny or
             ironic ("<g>" or "<grin>" is also sometimes used).
:-( or :(    An unhappy face seen side on; generally used to express
             disappointment or sorrow.
;-)          A winking smiley face;
             usually indicates that something should be taken "with a
             grain of salt".
;->          A mischievous smiley face; usually indicates that a
             comment is intended to be provocative or racy.

 There are hundreds of others, some more recognizable than others.

Using the common smiley faces carefully can markedly improve the
clarity of your message, since they convey nuances which approximate
"body language". Like any embellishment, however, overuse of smiley
faces can destroy their value - use them sparingly.


The Bottom Line
---------------

Above all else, remember that electronic mail is about communication
with other people. When you compose an e-mail message, read it over
before sending it and ask yourself what your reaction would be if you
received it. Any time spent on making our e-mail clearer is time
well-spent, so let's start taking the time.

-- David Harris --



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                                 -(o o)-
------------------------------oOO--(_)--OOo------------------------
| Danny Engelman       (picture in gopher at GOPHER.CETIS.HUT.NL) |
| ............................................................... |
| Cetis,                                                          |
| Centre for Educational Technology, Innovation and Stafftraining |
| at the 'Hogeschool Utrecht' University for Vocational Education |
| ............................................................... |
| internet : dengelman@cetis.hut.nl      po-box 573               |
| fax      : (+31) (0)30-368180          3500 AN  Utrecht         |
| phone    : (+31) (0)30-308117          The Netherlands (europe) |
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