Email Etiquette 
by Joel Heffner

 
Although the Web gets most of the attention, email gets the most action. There are literally millions of pieces of email sent each day. Unfortunately, many who send email aren't aware of the basic etiquette involved. There are some basic rules to follow when sending email. In business, it's very important to
know about them because it's likely that you will lose business from a poorly written email. Here are some of the basics of email etiquette.

1. Don't send mass email to folks who don't want to receive it.

That's called spamming and is probably the single-most hated thing on the Internet.

2 DON'T USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS! On the Internet that is considered as shouting. It's also harder to read all capital letters.

3. Keep your messages short. Email is considered to be
much less formal than sending a letter. Get to the point as soon as possible.

4. Use the Subject line to let folks know what the message is about. Try to make it interesting and short.

5. Spellcheck your email. Since your message is a reflection of your image, it is oftentimes the first (and often only) way that you can make a good impression.

6. When sending messages to more than one person, use blind copies. That means that the other folks who receive your message don't see the email address of each person you are sending the message to. It also will avoid having one person return a message to all the other people who originally received it.

7. When in doubt, don't send it. Frivolous messages should be avoided. No one wants to waste time looking at messages that didn't have to be sent. It may also mean that the next time you send a message - it won't even get opened!

8. Make your email address easy to remember. An address like joelheffner@consultant.com is much easier to remember than one like jh123094@myworld.net. You can get customized addresses at www.mail.com for free.You can also have them forwarded to your other email accounts.

9. Make it easy for folks to email you by providing them with links on your Web site. Also, make sure you spell out your email address. Some newbies don't understand that you can click on a link to open a new email box.

10. Nice emails are always appreciated. Saying thank you is always a nice thing to do whether you are using email, telephone, or a written note.

11. Some people like to use symbols like :). These symbols are used to show emotion, since it's hard to tell if someone is smiling when they say something in an email. The most commonly used symbols are:

:) Smile

:( Unhappy Face

:D Big Grin

LOL Laughing Out Loud

ROFL Rolling On The Floor Laughing

Knowing about email etiquette will help you avoid
mistakes on the Internet and will make you look more
professional. For email questions, you can send email
at joelheffner@consultant.com

Attachments with Email

We all know you should not open an attachment from someone we don't expect something from - even from someone we know, as they may have a virus and unknowingly be sending it to you.  If you use Netscape however, you may not have that choice, as the default of Netscape is to open attachments automatically.

You can disable this feature - go to Messenger's View menu and
uncheck the menu item called "View attachments inline."  This
will prevent Messenger from automatically opening attachments.

Now, simply drag the message to the trash can in the folder pane on the left side of the screen.  To delete everything in your trash can, right click on the trash can and you can delete all the mail in the trash.

If a web site spawns a bunch of unwanted new browser windows, there are two ways to close them:

Either click the close button in the top-right corner or give it the kiss of death - Press Alt-F4. Hold down the Alt key, and press the F4 key.

Try it - you'll terminate whatever you're using.

_Bob Osgoodby <bosgoodby@ilist.net>