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E-mail Courtesy

  • Make your Subject field meaningful.
    Let the recipient know what your message is about. Well-chosen words in the Subject field may help your message get attention sooner.
  • Know your audience.
    Use a more formal tone if you do not personally know the recipient. Check beforehand to see if a recipient is interested in receiving material that some might consider annoying; e.g., jokes, political messages.
  • Be concise.
    Keep an e-mail as short as possible. If it must be long, break it up into paragraphs with headings that the reader can scan quickly.
  • Don't reproduce an e-mail message in full when responding to it.
    Select only the parts that you want to answer. However, do not edit quoted messages to change the overall meaning.
  • Be careful about forwarding.
    For details on this subject, see Forwarding messages individually.
  • Check your e-mail regularly and respond promptly.
    Ignoring a message is discourteous and confusing to the sender. Always reply to an e-mail, if only briefly, to let the sender know you received it.
  • If a message is important, follow up.
    Never assume that a message you sent has been read. Follow up an important message with a phone call if a reply is overdue.
  • Don't spam.
    In the context of e-mail, spam means electronic garbage. Sending junk e-mail (e.g., advertisements, chain letters) to a group or to someone you don't know is considered "spamming."
  • Don't "flame."
    A "flame" is an inflammatory or overly critical response to an annoying message (e.g., spam, controversial statement, incomplete information). If you do get flamed, it's best to just ignore it. Responding to a flame can escalate into a "flame war."
  • Don't use ALL CAPS.
    This is the online equivalent of shouting. Avoid using a string of capital letters in your correspondence unless absolutely necessary.
  • Be patient.
    Wait before re-transmitting a message or sending a follow-up message.
  • Keep your signature lines short.
    Large signature blocks (more than four lines) are generally considered rude. NC State prohibits the use of personal quotations or personal statements in employees' signature blocks (Computer Use Regulation, section 2.11).
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Orig. Posted: Wed, 03/11/2009 - 09:41 — cawalker.ncsu.edu  Last Modified: Tue, 07/21/2009 - 09:07