I did what you told me…waiting

I sent the e-mail to 10 people like you said….

I’m still waiting for this miracle to happen!

To all my friends who in the last year sent me best wishes, chain letters, angel letters or other promises of good luck if I forwarded something…. That CRAP didn’t work!

This year could you just send money, vodka, or gas vouchers please.

Which brings me to the subject of this post:

E-Mail Etiquette

The slightly humorous photo and caption above represents an e-mail I recently received from a friend. Now, I appreciate a good joke and a good laugh as much as the next person. As a matter of fact, I have written about the benefits of having some humor in your life every day. And I certainly believe in regular communication with our friends. But sometimes there is just too much ‘crap’ in our in-box. I didn’t mind receiving this e-mail, nor was I offended by it. But since I was already workiing on an article about e-mail etiquette, I thought I would include it.

Here is a brief ‘E-Mail Etiquette Guide’

  • Don’t forward ‘chain letter’ e-mails. They are annoying and they take up space. Although they seem to be a fact of life, the internet is glutted with them. They attempt to play on the wishes and fears of the recipients (with good fortune, money, etc.) and many succeed.
  • Don’t send unsolicited e-mails. We all get tons of “spam” e-mails these days. Most of them are from people we don’t know. But receiving too many e-mails from friends and family might be annoying. You might cause them to ignore any e-mail from you. It’s a good idea to ask before sending jokes, links, or other unsolicited e-mail to friends. You will probably find some will say “no.”
  • Don’t YELL. Don’t write IN ALL CAPS. It’s not nice to shout and it takes longer to read an e-mail written this way.
  • Don’t leave the subject line blank. This is more important to many peole than you might imagine. It could also be cause for your e-mail not being read. When we are cruising through the junk in our in-box, we are looking at the subject as much as who sent it. Use a “relevant” subject title that is pertinent to the message.
  • Don’t overpuntuate. Six exclamation marks are not necessary to get your point across!!!!!! Use emphasis when necessary, just don’t overdo it.
  • Don’t overlook grammar and spelling. Turn on the spell checker. Poor grammar and spelling (and typo’s) can be a bad reflection on you. This is especially important when sending business e-mail.

While there are many more Do’s and Don’ts, these are the basics of e-mail etiquette. These things are even more important when using business e-mail or sending correspondance from your workplace. Just remember:

You are communicatng with another person. Be nice. Be courteous. Realize the other person may not have the same feelings or etiquette toward e-mail as you. E-mail is a great thing. Keep it great.

Gina