Tips for
Students and Staff on “Netiquette,”
or
The Art of
Effective Communication by E-mail
Note to
the Reader: When
it comes to “netiquette” – the rules of politeness and
courtesy as well as efficiency which govern e-mail use -- there are several
different potential pitfalls into which the e-mail user can inadvertently
stumble. This list of tips on “netiquette” will establish
categories of error, as well as make recommendations for how to avoid such
errors.
I.
Because of the
potential for incompatibility between your email software and that of your
reader, it’s best to prevent problems (like gobbledygook ending up on
their screen instead of readable text) by avoiding the following:
a.
fancy fonts
b.
italics
c.
bolding of words
d.
colored font
II.
Because email,
unlike other forms of communication, does not give people many “status
cues” about each other (i.e., information about their placement with
respect to each other in the social hierarchy), we need be aware that people
will rely on superficial indicators of status* in email exchanges. They will derive “clues” about
your status from:
a.
your domain name (is it .com for a commercial enterprise;
.edu for an educational institution; .gov to signify that you work or are affiliated with the
government, etc.)
b.
the formality of
your tone and text
c.
your grammar,
punctuation, and spelling
d.
your name and/or
signature on the e-mail
*If your reader’s
impression of your status matters to you, then pay close attention to your
grammar, spelling, formality of language, signature – i.e., the elements
in the e-mail that you can control
III.
Because e-mail
can be difficult to read in large amounts depending upon the layout of
one’s e-mail screen, try to make the going easier for your reader by
doing the following:
a.
use shorter
lines in email than might otherwise be the case
b.
use shorter
paragraphs in email
c.
keep your
messages short (rule of thumb: the maximum should be 25 lines of text)
IV.
Because email is
a medium in which we cannot derive “context” cues from the other
person’s facial expression, tone of voice, body language, or the
situation in which the communication is occurring, many misunderstandings can
arise in email communications. To avoid unwittingly offending or irritating
your reader, pay attention to the rules for intonation in e-mail, and try to
give the most contextual information to your reader in the fewest words
possible.
- Intonation
i.
avoid sarcasm in
email, even if you are joking
ii.
to add light
emphasis to a word, use *asterisks* around the word being emphasized
iii.
use all capital
letters to give STRONG emphasis to a word
iv.
use all
lowercase letters for “whispering” or asides
- Email Context Cues
i.
write good
(i.e., specific) subject lines on all email
ii.
if the e-mail is
time critical, add the word “urgent” to the subject line (some
email software includes an option for adding this)
i.
add REQ: to the
subject line if action is required on the part of your reader
ii.
if your email is
a reply, quote the original email
(not too much, only what is necessary) or, if your email software quotes
the original automatically, place the quote at the end of your reply
All of the information contained in
these tips for “netiquette” is taken from the article by Kaitlin Duck Sherwood entitled “A Beginner’s Guide
to Effective Email,” – http://webfoot.com/advice/email.top.html