Email Etiquettes

1. Email Etiquette

2. What is Email Etiquette?
• Etiquette is defined as the rules
governing socially acceptable behavior
• Applied to email – ‘virtual’ behavior
• Also applies to
– Chat
– Message Boards

3. Why?
• Most people use electronic
communication
• May be your only communication with
an individual
• Project a professional attitude
• Efficiency

4. Format
• Email Address
• Address person you are sending to
• Message length
• One subject per message
• HTML vs. Plain Text

5. Sending Messages
• Auto-Completion
• CC and BC
• Subject
• Jokes and Chain letters
• Virus warnings

6. Replying
• Reply vs. Reply All
• Including the original message
• Replying to a list or group
• Auto-Replies – also known as vacation
rules

7. Attachments
• Size
• Format
• Is it necessary?
• Is the recipient expecting it?
• Alternatives

8. General
• Message Tone
– Pleasantries
– WRITING IN ALL CAPS
– Excess Punctuation
• Spelling
• Grammar

9. General cont.
• Abbreviations
• High Priority
• Signatures
• Opinions – also known as flaming
• Respond promptly

10. Email shouldn’t be used for !
• Discipline
• Grades
• Conflict resolution

11. Going for consensus:
Understand other people’s views from their point of view.
Find conclusion which satisfies every one rather than
expressing yourself.
Genuine consensus is different from suppressing your
views in favor of a majority view. Don’t lose the main
benefits of a group, which is having multiple perspectives
on the same issue.
Those who disagree strongly should stick to their ideas.

12. Practical communication principles (PCPs).
(Based on experiences and some documents)
• PCP1: Thank, acknowledge and support people freely.
Ex1: I like your comment Ex2: I agree with so. Ex3:
Thanks…
• In computer conference, you cannot see other people nod
their heads smile or greet you. If you don’t receive an
acknowledgement of a message, you feel ignored. People
should know that they have been appreciated.
• PCP2: Acknowledge before differ.
• Ex1: what I think you mean? Ex2: Have I got that right? Ex3:
my own view differs as follows.
• If you disagree with someone. Start by briefly restating what
the other person has said. The person then knows that you
are trying to understand him, and is thus in a better position
to take your view seriously.

13. • PCP3: Speak from your own perspective:
• Ex1: here’s how I see? Ex2: how I feel
about?
- You can present other views with a direct
quote like:
- “ As so and so said in ex. “.
- Don’t generalize: Ex: “ it is a fact that … “
- If something is put as an absolute, there is no
room for anyone else’s perspective.

14. Avoid ‘ flaming spirals’:
• Sometimes someone will be offended at
someone else’s message, where no
offensiveness was intended, and therefore
they would reply angrily.
• The first person may then respond angrily
and so on, leading to an increasing spiral of
abuse. This can easily happen in computer
conference (no facial expression).
• The best solution for people involved is to
affirm that they had not intended to offend
and they understand the other’s point of
view.

15. On emotions in messages:
• Emotions can easily be misunderstood when you
can’t see faces or body language. People may not
realize you are joking.
• There are conventions for saying “ this is a joke” or
expressing your feeling. They are called “ smileys “
or emotions.
• Ex1: I’m joking! 8- ).
• Ex2: -) smile.
• Ex3: 8- ( I’m feeling sad.
• Writing capital letters means shouting.

16. Where to write what:
Before you send a message, check that it is addressed to the
most appropriate place.
General style:
Keep messages short. If you have something longer to say,
put it in a word processor file and then attach it to a short
message.
Take the subject line seriously and make sure it is clear.
People see subject line before the content of a message and
may use it to decide whether or not to read the message.
Legal issues:
If you are copying something written by someone else, put
it in quotation marks.

17. References
• http://oit.wvu.edu/support/tss/etiquette.
html.
• Vacation rules in GroupWise.
• http://oit.wvu.edu/support/tss/groupwise
/howto/vacation.html.
• Virus Sources.
• http://oit.wvu.edu/oit/virus.html .
• UK open university.