Mind Your EMail Manners Dow Chemical recently dismissed

Mind Your E-Mail Manners

Dow Chemical recently dismissed 50 workers for circulating pornographic and other inappropriate material via e-mail. Late last year, the New York Times fired 23 employees for swapping off-color messages.

THE WORST ETIQUETTE OFFENSES

#1 Sending Offensive Content ØEmployers have the right to monitor your e-mail ØMost companies archive e-mail—even deleted messages ØYour own messages can be used against you in court Advice: Don’t send any e-mail you wouldn’t put on a postcard Don’t use your business e-mail for personal correspondence

#2 Using E-mail for Sensitive Messages ØE-mail messages can be misconstrued. ØSome people have actually been fired by e-mail. ØDon’t communicate sensitive matters anonymously. Advice: Sensitive matters at work should be handled in person first, telephone next, voice mail third and e-mail only as a last resort.

#3 Flaming ØSome people don’t deal well with anger or confrontation ØIn the heat of the moment, they send ugly messages ØAfter regaining composure, they regret what they wrote. Advice: Think before you click Send

#4 Spamming and Chain E-mail ØDon’t forward unsolicited marketing e-mail. ØAvoid sending your friends chain messages. Advice: Never send spam unless you do the following first: Ask the recipient for their permission. Check to make sure the spam is legitimate.

#5 Getting Too Attached to Attachments ØAttachments can quickly spread viruses. ØThey can take forever to download (tying up a phone line). ØThe attachment may be blocked. Advice: Ask for permission to send attachments. Be careful of quantity and size of attachments. Simple rule: When in doubt, leave it out.

#6 Not Bothering to Check Your Spelling and Grammar ØIt’s insulting to receive a message containing poor spelling and grammar and doesn’t reflect well on the writer. Advice: Proofread messages before sending. If your e-mail lacks these tools, use a word processing program and cut and paste.

#7 Taking Too Long to Respond ØDon’t ignore an e-mail (excluding spam). ØRespond in a timely manner. Advice: Respond to e-mail within one business day. Some ISP’s can set up an automatic reply and forward options to another address during vacation.

#8 Using CC ØBusiness e-mails should be copied to anyone concerned. ØCC’s are exposed to other recipients—a privacy concern. ØCopying may imply a distrust or disrespect for recipient. Advice: When in doubt, don’t use CC. Protect identity of multiple recipients by using BCC (blind carbon copy).

#9 Rambling On ØIt takes time to read a rambling message. Advice: Get right to the point and stay there. Write short paragraphs and sentences. When replying, delete the original message text or keep only enough to be understood.

#10 Making Assumptions About Formatting ØYour e-mail system may support italic or bold type or heavily formatted HTML. . . But your recipient’s may not. Advice: Assume the recipient’s e-mail program can handle only basic text. Especially. . . Always send e-mail resumes to prospective employers as plain-text files.

And Remember. . . üE-mail is not private üE-mail is not formal üE-mail is not gone when it is deleted üE-mail is not an excuse to bore people

Some popular emoticons: : -) Happy : -o Surprised ; -) Winking : -( Sad : -D Laughing : -I Indifferent : -e Disappointed : -@ Screaming 8 -) Eye glasses : -< Mad : -o Yell : -{ Mustache : -/ Perplexed : -! Foot in mouth : -& Tongue tied

Accepted abbreviations, or *Net-Lingo* you can use: BCNU – Be seeing you BTW -- By the way FWIW -- For what it's worth FAQ – Frequently asked questions F 2 F – Face to face FYI – For your information IMHO -- In my humble opinion IRL – In real life OTOH -- On the other hand LOL -- Laughing out loud HHOK -- Ha ha, only kidding YHGTBK -- You have got to be kidding ROTFL -- Rolling on the floor laughing YMMV -- Your mileage may vary RTM -- Read the manual RTFM -- Read the manual (with added emphasis) AMF -- Adios, my friend TTYL – Talk to you later

For more information about email, link to any of the following sites and search “email”: http: //pcworld. com/ http: //pcmag. com/ http: //yil. com/ http: //internetworld. com/ http: //eweek. com/ Or visit any of your favorite search engines!