Email

Etiquette
Your key to effective
technological
communication.
Netiquette and More:
Good Manners in
Today’s Electronic
Workplace
 What is Netiquette?

It is “network
etiquette” - a set of
rules for proper
behavior online
Why is email etiquette
important?
 We all interact with the printed word as though it
has a personality and that personality makes
positive and negative impressions upon us.
 Without immediate feedback your document can
easily be misinterpreted by your reader, so it is
crucial that you follow the basic rules of etiquette
to construct an appropriate tone.
 First Impression
Happens
 Do you not care if you leave an unfavorable
impression?
 There is nothing wrong with caring about how
you are perceived
 When you send an email in all small case, filled
with grammatical errors, what will the person on
the other side of the screen think?
 It gives impression about your level of education,
technological awareness, etc
 First impression happens and you can control
what it will be by little effort required to reflect
knowledge, courtesy, and understanding
Electronic Mail Etiquette
 Huge topic and lots of
resources
 New culture/vocabulary
 Netizen

 Flame

 Spam

 Emoticons
Email Etiquette
1. Be polite
2. Understand cyber culture – ignorance online
is NOT bliss
3. Communicate clearly and properly without
errors
4. Respect other people’s time and bandwidth
5. Behave ethically – adhere to the same
standards online as you would in real life
 Be Polite
 Type unto others as you would have them
type unto you
 Remember the human! – we lose facial
expressions, gestures, and tone of voice
 Usually start your email with a salutation
 Usually end your email with Thank you,
Sincerely, etc
 Be Polite continued

 If forwarding, include a comment as

to why the document is being
forwarded.
 NEVER TYPE IN ALL CAPS – IT MEANS
YOU’RE SHOUTING
 Be careful using jokes or sarcasm
 Use simple emoticons to convey
emotion
Emoticons –symbols to
express emotion online
 :-)  Smiley face, happy
 :-(  Frown, sad
 >:-(  Angry frown, upset
 Gnashing teeth, really mad
 >:-{#}  Scream
 :-@
 Foot in mouth
 :-!
 (^.^)
 Rolling Eyes
 (-.-)  Napping
 …---…  SOS
 Be Polite continued

 Don’t type hastily – remember, never put

anything into an email that you don’t want the
world to know about
 You have no control of where an email goes after
you hit the send key
 If you’ve mistakenly offended another person, do
not hesitate to apologize
 Refrain from abusive or threatening behavior or
language (flaming)
The elements of email
etiquette
 General format  Flaming
 Writing long  Delivering
messages information
 Attachments
 Delivering bad
news
 The curse of  Electronic
surprises
Mailing Lists
 General Format: The
Basics
Write a salutation for each new

subject email.
 Use caps only
 Try to keep the email brief (one when appropriate.
screen length).
 Return emails within the same
 Format your email
time you would a phone call. for plain text
Check for punctuation, spelling,
rather than HTML.

and grammatical errors
 Use a font that has
a professional or
neutral look.
 General Format:
Character Spacing
 Try to keep your line length at 80
characters or less.
 If your message is likely to be forwarded,
keep it to 60 characters or less.
 Set your email preferences to
automatically wrap outgoing plain text
messages.
General Format: Lists
and Bullets
When you are writing For example,
directions or want 1) Place the paper in
to emphasize drawer A.
important points, 2) Click the green

number your “start” button.

directions or bullet Another example,
your main points. • Improve customer
satisfaction.
• Empower employees.
 General Format: Tone

• Write in a positive tone

“When you complete the report.” instead of “If
you complete the report.”
• Avoid negative words that begin with “un, non,
ex” or that end with “less” (useless, non-
existent, ex-employee, undecided).
• Use contractions to add a friendly tone.
(don’t, won’t, can’t).
Attachments
 When you are sending an
attachment tell your
respondent what the name
of the file is, what program
it is saved in, and the
version of the program.
 “This file is in MSWord
2000 under the name
“LabFile.”
When your message is
long
 Create an “elevator” summary.
 Provide a table of contents on the first screen
of your email.
 If you require a response from the reader then
be sure to request that response in the first
paragraph of your email.
 Create headings for each major section.
 Elevator Summary and
Table of Contents
An elevator summary  Table of contents
should have all the main “This email contains
components of the email. A. Budget projections for
“Our profit margin for the last quarter
the last quarter went B. Actual performance for
down 5%. As a result I the last quarter
am proposing budget
adjustment for the C. Adjustment proposal
following areas…” D. Projected profitability”
Delivering Information About
Meetings, Orientations,
Processes
 Include an elevator summary
and table of contents with
headings.
 Provide as much information
as possible.
 Offer the reader an
opportunity to receive the
information via mail if the
email is too confusing.
 Delivering Bad News
 Deliver the news up
front.
 Avoid blaming
statements.
 Avoid hedging words
or words that sound
ambiguous.
 Maintain a positive
resolve.
 Delivering Bad News
Deliver the news up front:
“We are unable to order new
computers this quarter due
to budget cuts.”
Avoid blaming:
“I think it will be hard to
recover from this, but what
can I do to help?”
Avoid using “weasel words”
or hedging:
“Our pricing structure is
outdated.”
More examples of hedging
are:
Intents and purposes
Possibly, most likely
Perhaps, maybe
 Writing a complaint
• You should briefly state • Show why it is critical for the
the history of the problem to be resolved by
your reader.
problem to provide
Offer suggestions on ways
context for your reader. •
you think it can be resolved
• Explain the attempts you or how you are willing to help
made previously to in the matter.
resolve the problem.
 Writing a complaint Show attempts made by you so far to
resolve the issue:
“I have offered two alternatives for
Briefly state the history: officer selection that still involves
the votes of the members but both
“The current way we have been rejected by the executive
board.”
choose officers for
our organization is
not democratic do
not always get the
best candidates.”
 Writing a complaint
Ask for help and offer a resolution:
“Please let me know what other options I
may have overlooked. I am willing to
meet with the department head and the
executive board to seek out a solution
that is fair to the members and is good
for the business of the organization. ”
 Do not take your reader by
surprise or press them to the
wall
• Do not wait until the end of the
day to introduce a problem or
concern via memo or email.
• Avoid writing a litany of
concerns that you have been
harboring for a long period of
time.
 Flaming

 A flame refers to any

inflammatory or
insulting message
sent via email
 Best move is to send
them to trash
 If you feel the flame is
worth responding to,
you’ve started a flame
war
 Flaming in emails
• Flaming is a virtual term for venting
or sending inflammatory messages
in email.
• Avoid flaming because it tends to
create a great deal of conflict that
• spiralsyou
What outsay
of control.
cannot be
taken back; it is in black
and white.
 Keep flaming under
control
• Before you send an email 
Read your
message, ask yourself,
“would I say this to this message twice
person’s face?” before you send
Calm down before
•
responding to a message
it and assume
that offends you. Once you that you may be
send the message it is gone.
misinterpreted
when
proofreading.
 Responding to a flame
 Empathize with the  Avoid getting bogged down by
details and minor arguments
sender’s frustration
 If you are aware that the
 If you feel they are situation is in the process of
right, thank them for being resolved let the reader
know at the top of the response
bringing the matter to  Apologize if necessary
your attention
 Explain what led to the
problem in question
 Understand Cyber
culture: Ignorance online
is not bliss
 Avoid using sexisms, racisms, ageisms,
religionisms etc.
 Never be ethnocentric (thinking one’s own
culture or nation is superior) – email is a
global arena
 Privacy – there is no such thing (never email
passwords, credit card numbers)
 Never ever send unsolicited email to anyone
for any reason
 Understand Cyber
culture cont.
 Never forward email addresses to
lots of people who do not want their
email address sent out (use BCC)
 Don’t forward virus warnings
 Never send chain letters – stop them
 In summary: never send bulk email -
spamming
SPAM: the equivalent of
junk mail
 An unsolicited email
(about a product or
service) should never be
sent unless you’re
responding to a request
 Never respond to link to
remove you from future
mailings (that you
haven’t asked for)
 Communicate Clearly
and Properly without
Errors
 You will be judged by the quality of
your writing.
 Spelling and grammar do count!
 Proofread for errors!
Communicate Clearly
cont.

 Always capitalize your sentences

and use appropriate punctuation
 Avoid excessively using acronyms
in emails (ur for your, cya for see
you later, and BTW for by the way)
 Take the time to make sure that
you are proud of the messages you
send
Communicate Clearly
cont.
 Always, always, always fill in the
subject line and make it descriptive
 Use signature files as appropriate
(keep them short)
 Name
 Email address
 Homepage address
 Place of business
 Work address and phone
 Character quote if you’d like
Communicate Clearly
cont.
 Avoid special formatting: You may
want to look good with fancy
formatting, but others see plain
black
 Use spaces between paragraphs
 *Asterisks* make a stronger point
 Dates: 4 JAN 2001 or JAN 4 2001,
not 1-4-2001
Respect Other People’s
Time and Bandwidth
 It’s your responsibility to ensure that the time they
spend reading your posting isn’t wasted
 Email wasn’t intended for long conversations
 A summary sentence helps
 Always edit out unnecessary information from a
post you are responding to
 Always minimize, compress or “zip” large files
before sending
 Respect the bandwidth (storage capacity) of a host
system
Behave Ethically: Follow
Same Standards Online
as Real Life
 Be ethical: if you encounter an ethical dilemma
in cyberspace, consult the code you follow in
real life
 Breaking the law is bad netiquette
 Ask permission for the right to download
materials found at other sites
 Do not forward email to mailing lists without
the original author’s permission
 Behave Ethically
continued
 Respect other people’s privacy:
never read their email
 Don’t abuse your power (e.g. system
administrators should never read
personal emails)
 Understand the legal nature of email
in your place of business (site)
 What is Email Whitelist
etiquette
 “Whitelist is the list of addresses of those
you do want to receive email from.”
 When signing for an online newsletter etc
add their address to your whitelist
 Check your junk mail and add the
important addresses to the whitelist that
have been somehow deleted.
 Summing Up Basic E-mail
Etiquette
1. Prompt Responses
2. Appropriately filled subject field
3. Level of formality
4. Proper addressing
5. To, From, Bcc, Cc and reply to All
fields can make or break your
communication.
a) In the TO field
b) In the from field
c) Cc.
d) Reply to all
 Summing Up Basic E-mail
Etiquette
6. Formatting
7. Attachments
8. Previous email for New
Correspondence
9. Down edit your replies
10.Common courtesy
11. Spam
12. Signature files
 Email Courtesies
 Courtesy 1 :
Do not type in all caps
Do not leave the subject field blank
Refrain from formatting daily communication in colored
text
For group mailing list addresses in the Bcc field
Never give personal information.
Do not use RR return Receipt request for all mails
Don’t respond to nasty emails
Respect copyright of private email authors.
Always minimize, compress, or zip large files before sending
Do not forward virus warnings
 Courtesy 2:

“Perception is the only reality online”

Consider your emails as serious communication tool

Understand that you portray yourself by how you write
Be courteous
Follow basic rules of greeting others
etc
 Courtesy 3:
“Spell check, Proofread for errors, Capitalize,
use appropriate punctuation and grammar”
Friends and family will overlook but for
business associates proper formality is
essential for relationship and creditability.
Don’t be informal when meaning business
Refrain from using multiple !!!!!!!! Or ???????
As it looks sarcastic .
Type sentences in full
Create new paragraphs when necessary.
Review your email before sending
 Courtesy 4:

End your email with “Thank you”, “Best

regards” etc
Never forward emails without comment
Appreciate for help or timely response
Courtesy 5:

Send IM or Text messages properly

Be cognizant about when and where is most
appropriate time to IM
Practice communication briefly and clearly
IM allows only 512 characters per message
Use features like busy and away
Do not continue multiple IM sessions if not a
multi tasker
Use for casual topics or information
 Courtesy 6:

Respond promptly and edit out unnecessary

information
Unedited response shows your lack of
understanding of communication and
others bandwidth
 Courtesy 7:
NEVER EVER send information regarding your product
or services until requested for
It is UNSOLICITED
Don’t assume that sending junk mail is acceptable
Never follow instructions from unscrupulous
spammers
Spammers are considered as lazy, obnoxious and
unethical.
 Courtesy 8:

Be known by the way you write

Don’t send crude emails
Don’t lower yourself by responding to crude
emails
Don’t hesitate to apologies if committed some
mistake
Don’t open your hearts on email
Use emoticons and acronyms when necessary to
convey your feelings
 Courtesy 9:

“Don’t fall for Flames. Trolls or Jerks”

“Trolling is posting obvious offensive
comments”
Don’t get involved just pass them If needed
respond calmly and professionally
 Courtesy10 :

Don’t loose your Human Touch

Remember there is a human on the other
side of the monitor
Always practice a socially acceptable
behavior
Don’t choose to be ignorant make the
reverse choice to learn, learn and keep
learning