ALL PURPOSE ADVICE - BE CLEAR
Do not assume your correspondent will fill in the blanks.
Include details -- or if you are asking for something -- add
explicit instructions. Be succinct and say what you need to
say. (I hear the voices of Strunk
and White...)
SEND THE KIND OF EMAIL YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE
With so much email we all have limited attention when sorting
through the in-box. What do most people like? It's obvious --
messages that are clear and to the point.
Confirm receipt of important emails, and if you receive information
that is useful -- via direct email or perhaps as a post in an
online
conference or forum, a quick "thanks" is well received.
If there is a persistent problem with email it is that some
people tend not to respond in a timely manner. Messages do not
have to be answered in five minutes, but as a rule of thumb,
they should not sit in your message box any longer than it would
take to return a phone call.
We begin with the main task -- how to make your email skills
more effective. First, ask yourself two important questions:
1) What emails do you answer first?
2) What emails do you answer last?
Consider then how others read your messages and the steps you'll
need to take to write correspondence that others would want
to answer quickly.
Think from the point of view of your message's reader. Do they
know you or will you need to introduce yourself? If you do not
provide a courteous introduction, chances are your message may
not be answered.
Be brief. Most people do not wish to read more than a paragraph.
A few words about netiquette.
It is presumptuous to make requests of people you do not know.
So if you are asking a question or a favor, be courteous and
be clear. For example, include a reader-friendly subject line
and sign your message.
Also, think about how many people will you send your
message to. Personal correspondence should go to, well, one
person. Do not make the mistake of sending a personal message
out via a mailing list or forum.
NOT ALL EMAILS REQUIRE A RESPONSE
If a direct question is asked, then an answer is expected.
But many emails are sent simply for the objective of informing.
Email is often used as a communications tool by the very
lonely. It's difficult to respond to long, rambling essays
from strangers.
What's the proper response time to an email? First, be aware
that some messages do not require a response.
Commercial queries should be answered ASAP.
Keep news about technical problems, work overload, emotional
hang ups to a minimum in email. Some things that can be discussed
in person or on the phone just read as plain 'whining' in an
email.
SUBJECT LINE
When sending personal email, do not try to be clever and re-use
the subject lines used in typical spam. This means not using
words such as "free" in the subject line or CAPITALIZING ALL
THE LETTERS.
Second rule of email -- Do not send messages in HTML unless
you are certain the recipient has the appropriate software.
When in doubt, send mail in plain text. In short, make
your messages as easy to read across multiple platforms.
Microsoft Word automatically changes straight quotation marks
(' or ") to curly (smart, or typographer's) quotes as you
type. You might not want curly quotes in web documents. To turn
this feature on or off:
1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect, and then click the
AutoFormat As You Type tab.
2. Under Replace as you type, select or clear the 'Straight
quotes' with 'smart quotes' check box.
Note: You can find and replace all instances of single or double
curly quotes with straight quotes in your document. To do this,
clear the 'Straight quotes' with 'smart quotes' check box on
the AutoFormat As You Type tab. On the Edit menu, click Replace.
In both the Find what and Replace with boxes, type ' or ",
and then click Find Next or Replace All.
To replace all straight quotes with curly quotes, select the
"Straight quotes" with "smart quotes" check
box, and repeat the find and replace procedure.
Timing is everything. Be careful when assuming that your real
time work is parallel to a colleague. For example, do not
call someone 5-10 minutes after sending an email and assume
they've read your message. "Did you read my message
..."
Cursed spam! Unfortunately, spam is invariably on the rise.
For that reason, I use a special online
form which robots cannot use to harvest my address.
It's even common for a spammer to forge your email address
in the From, Reply-To or Return-Path. Says web guru Bill Christensen:
"It's a little more complicated to forge the sending IP or mail
server. They even admit toward the end of the email that they
put your address in both the To: and From: 'to save bandwidth.'
Theirs, of course."
ETHICS -- It should go without saying, but individuals
and businesses with a sense of ethics SHOULD NOT send out unsolicited
spam. It only damages your reputation.
There are a number of consumer sites that are leading the
fight against such messages.
Stopping
spam with the Anti-Spam-SMTP-Proxy (ASSP)
Fight Spam on
the Internet!
Spam:
How to Fight it - Elsop's Anti-Spam Page
The
Anti-Spam Home Page
Spam Arrest
Spamcop
Spamhaus
Spam
Weasel
Using
SORBS
Free
Speech Online
Spamguard
- Yahoo Groups
REFLECTION -- Not all spam blockers work 100%.
Be careful that you do not throw messages you want to read into
the trash. Whitelist your friends and colleagues.
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