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Ten Rules Of Netiquette
If you are new to using email or if you have used it only occasionally, you may want to become more familiar with some of the general rules of writing email. The following are 10 good rules of netiquette or good manners when writing on the Internet.
- Write a meaningful subject line
Never underestimate the importance
of a subject line. Some people get hundreds of emails, so the trick is writing
a descriptive subject line to catch the reader's attention. Saying "Chapter 11" could mean anything. If instead you said "Questions about Chapter 11," the
recipient will know the topic of the email.
If all you have to say can be said in a few words, for example "Do we have to read chapter 5?" you might consider putting the whole content of your message in the subject line. That way the person on the other end won't have to open the email to get the point.
- Keep it short
With email, you want to keep words to a minimum. The good thing about email is you can skip many formalities. Everyone expects you to get to the point. The rule here is less is better.
- Avoid using ALL CAPS
On the Internet, writing in all CAPS means you are SHOUTING at someone. If you want to emphasize words, use *asterisks* around them.
- Use your judgment with attachments
Do not send large attachments as they take a frustratingly long time to download, especially on older computers. Also, make sure that the person at the other end can open the type of file you are sending.
- P-r-o-o-f-r-e-a-d
Always run a spell check on your emails, then proofread. The spell check may accept a word that exists in the dictionary, even if it does not make sense in the context of your sentence. An email with grammatical and spelling mistakes may make as bad an impression as a faulty resume.
- Be careful what you say
Do not assume that your email will be seen only by the recipient; your mail can be forwarded any number of times.
- Reply promptly
This makes a good impression, even if it's just to acknowledge you received an email.
- Pay attention to formatting
It is very tempting to go wild with formatting to make text look more attractive, but control the impulse. Some users might have computers that cannot read certain kinds of formatting (font, size, color, etc.), so they will just receive the mail as gibberish. Emails with heavy formatting are larger and may even cause older computers to crash.
- Do not be flame happy
A flame is an angry and sometimes abusive email message. Flames are part of email tradition, but you have to be careful. Also, guard against flame wars, sending flames back and forth among two or more people, as these tend to get nasty and can lead to bad feelings among an online group.
- Reply to or forward an email to which you are referring
When you want to refer to something in an email someone sent sometime back, just forward the earlier email and add your comments within the message. This way, people receiving the email will know the context in which they should read your mail. This is called a thread.
With these points in mind, you can safely venture into the world of online communication. Once you get the hang of it, you'll see it is a breeze. For a few practice questions related to these tips, please visit our activity on Netiquette. |
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