E-MAIL ETIQUETTE
HERITAGE CONNECTIONS
E-mail is the most widely used application on the Internet today. This use of the Internet has resulted in a new way of communicating with subtleties that the new user might be unaware.
This guide has been created to help you become aware of the language, unspoken rules and responsibilities of what is commonly known as E-mail Etiquette.
Following are some hints that will put you in the know and keep you out of what could become a sticky cyber situation.
DEFINITIONS:
- FLAMES: A critical or inflammatory message. Avoid sending emails that might trigger an upsetting response from the recipient.
- SPAMMING: In reference to email, spam means junk email or electronic garbage. Avoid using a newsgroup or list for this annoying practice.
- THREADS: Threads are series of responses to an original message. It is helpful to keep the thread information together. This makes it easier for the participants to follow the chain of information that is exchanged.
DOs
- Use Asterisks: Asterisks may be used to *highlight* a key thought or word for emphasis, and should only be used when necessary to *highlight* an important point.
- Check Email Regularly: Frequent checks of email and keeping the number of messages in your inbox to a minimum will help keep your email inbox clean and running properly.
- Be Concise: One of the advantages of email is to communicate a thought or answer a question in an informal, quick manner. Keeping emails short helps to keep your email more productive.
- Show Patience: At times your email won't be responded to for a few days. Email must span all time zones and your recipient could be asleep, out for the evening, on a holiday that you didn't know about, or a number of other reason to delay their response.
DON'Ts
- Don't use ALL caps: The use of a string of capital letters in your correspondence infers strong negative emotion to many. This is the on-line equivalent of shouting and might give others the idea that you are angry.
- Overuse Mail Distribution Lists: A long delivery list may appear at the top of the message and make your message look like junk mail.
- Repeat Messages: It is courteous to give recipients a reasonable chance to respond to a previous message before re-sending the original message.
- Humor and/or Sarcasm: Be very cautious when using humor and sarcasm, especially in international emails. Different cultures have different perceptions of what is appropriate or funny.
E-MAIL LANGUAGE or E-SPEAK
One of the beauties of email is it's a way to communicate fast and relatively informal. As a result, an email code in the form of acronyms has emerged. Study the following list of some common email acronyms to learn to E-Speak fluently.
| E-MAIL LANGUAGE | |
|---|---|
| ACRONYM | TRANSLATIONS | BCU | Be seeing you. | BTW | By the way. | FWIW | For what its worth. | FAQ | Frequently asked questions. | F2F | Face to face. | FYI | For your information. | IMHO | In my humble opinion. | IRL | In real life. | LOL | Lots of luck. | OBO | Or best offer. | ROTFL | Rolling on the floor laughing. | TNSTAAFL | There's no such thing as a free lunch. | TTFN | Ta, ta for now. | TTYL | Talk to you later |
E-mail symbols are referred to as "emoticons" developed to help show personality and communicate feelings. They can also add warmth to emails.
| SYMBOLS and TRANSLATIONS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | :-) | happy/smiley face |
| 2. | ;-) | wink |
| 3. | :-( | sad/frown |
| 4. | 8-) | eye-glasses |
| 5. | :-O | yell |
| 6. | :-@ | scream |
| 7. | :-I | |
| 8. | :-/ | perplexed |
| 9. | ;-} | leer |
| 10. | :-e | disappointment |
| 11. | :-D | surprise/shock |
| 12. | :-P | wry smile |
| 13. | :-Q | smoker |
| 14. | :-! | foot in mouth |
| 15. | :-{ | mustache |
| 16. | d:-) | baseball smiley |
| 17. | :-& | tongue tied |
| 18. | (((HUGS))) | hugs (or use a person's name in place of HUGS) |
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