E-mail Etiquette

By Keith C. Ivey
Presentation by Allison Lange

Writing E-mail Basic

Learn how to properly use your e-mail program.

E-mail

programs often have extra features that

allow people to handle their e-mail more efficiently.

Use a meaningful subject line.

Subject

lines are suppose to tell the reader what

the e-mail is about.
Vague or blank subject lines are often over looked
or given a low priority to the busy person.

Writing E-mail Basics cont.

Dont over quote.

Make

sure to only quote portions that are important to

the replied message.
Quoting the entire message can confuse or distract
readers.

Use signatures.
Signatures

can automatically attach contact

information to the end of an email.
Dont use cute sayings or closings in signatures.

Formatting Issues

Keep text lines short

Not

all e-mail programs wrap text in e-mails.

Keeping lines 64 characters will keep lines from being
too long on most browsers.

Dont use formatting

Different

e-mail programs may not be able to see

formatted text
If unsure of the persons e-mail program avoid using
fortmatting techniques or sending pictures in the body
of the e-mail

Formatting Issues cont.

Dont send e-mails people cannot read.

Characters

that are not common to all email

programs may show up incorrectly or not at all.
American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII) appropriate characters are
widely accepted by browsers.
For ASCII character tables visit the ASCII Table.

Make web addresses easy for recipients to use.

Make

mails.

sure to include http:// when adding links to e-

Sending Courtesy

Check where the e-mail is being sent before

clicking send.
Check

both the To:, Cc:, and Bcc: lines before

sending the e-mail to make sure it is going to the
correct recipients

Use blind copies when sending mass e-mails.

This

keeps e-mail accounts from being exposed.

This allows recipients to only reply to the sender
when they use the reply all option of their browser.

Sending Courtesy cont.

Dont send junk mail.

Chain

letter, jokes, and virus alerts can clutter e-mail

boxes.
Sending unsolicited bulk e-mails is more likely to
create enemies then make friends or attract
customers.
If concerned about virus alerts contact the e-mail
support services to verify a threat or go
Computer Virus Myths.

References

Ivey, Keith C. "E-Mail Etiquette." EEI Communications.

2007. 29 Oct. 2007
<http://www.eeicom.com/eye/utw/98may.html>.
Price, Jim. "ASCI Chart." Jimprice.Com. 22 Mar. 2007.
29 Oct. 2007 <http://www.jimprice.com/jim-asc.shtml>.
"Truth About Computer Security Hysteria." Vmyths.Com.
2007. 29 Oct. 2007 <http://vmyths.com/>.