E-mail Etiquette

Tutored by : Prof. Sunil D’ Anto

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Topical Outline
Introduction
Evolution of E-Mail
Advantages of E-Mail Communication
Disadvantages of E-Mail Communication
E-Mails: Structure and Style
E-Mails: Tone and Content
E-Mails: Reflect/Respond/Revise
Spelling Check & Auto-Correct
Requesting Read Receipts
Auto-Responses & Out-of-Office Mails
Smiley & Emoticons
CAPS & Grawlixes
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Topical Outline
Mass Mails/Spams and Phishing Mails
E-Mail Flaming & Mail Bombings
Do’s of E-Mail Communication
Don’ts of E-Mail Communication

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Introduction
• Internet has revolutionized communication
• Letters practically have become obsolete in the
modern office
• E-mails – form of computer-mediated communication
(CMC) in the form of mails (which are letters written
on computers) that are sent over the Internet, to one-
or-many recipients
• E-mails have their standard protocol and etiquette

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Evolution of E-Mail
• Internet set up by Department of Defense for military
communication – ARPAnet
• World Wide Web developed by an Englishman, Tim
Berners-Lee (CERN)
• WWW took internet away from military &
academics to the common man

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Advantages of E-Mail Communication
• Increased Speed of communication
• Elimination of “telephone tags”
• E-mails “on-the-go”
• Ease and convenience
• Cost-effective
• Reliable delivery service
• Ease of data transfer
• Timing convenience
• Different addresses
• Ease of storage/retrieval
• Supports “go-green”
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Disadvantages of E-Mail Communication
• Less formal/personal
• Lack of confidentiality
• Threat of impersonation
• Resources needed
• Greater scope for misunderstanding
• E-mails are litigious
• Easily altered and distorted
• Easily SPAMed
• Delayed or ignored responses
• Accidental deletions
• Threat of viruses
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E-Mails: Structure and Style
• From – sender’s e-mail address
• To – recipient’s e-mail address
• Cc – Carbon Copy; recipients who need to be in loop
• Bcc – Blind Carbon Copy; conceals recipient’s identity
• Subject – short title of e-mail based on content
• Priority Tag – communicates urgency of e-mail
• Opening/Salutation
• In India: Dear Sir/Ma’am,
• In USA: Dear Sir/Ma’am:
• Dear Ms. <Lastname>, (when you know the gender)
• Dear <Firstname> <Lastname>,
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E-Mails: Structure and Style
• Body – contains the actual message
• Closing/Valediction – formal and sometimes creative
• Regards,
• Sincerely,
• Signature – additional information about sender
• Attachments – send additional documents
• If attachment too large, compress the file
• Check with sender before sending attachment
• Pay attention to company policies
• Reply/Reply All/Forward – ‘reply’ to ‘sender’; ‘reply all’
to ‘sender+recipient’, ‘forward’ to ‘new receivers’
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E-Mails: Tone and Content

• E-mail lacks vocal intonations, facial expressions, and

body language
• Susceptible to misinterpretation
• Spontaneity and the speed at which you can hit the
“Send” button makes e-mail lethal than conventional
letters
• Use judgment and exercise caution

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E-Mails: Reflect/Respond/Revise
• Do not be in haste in replying to an e-mail
• (No) rewards for promptness
• But serious consequences for carelessness
• Hence, reflect on e-mail received and think of the
response, compose the message and revise the
message before hitting the “Send” button
• Revise for – grammar, spelling mistakes, missing links,
missing data points, and missing sentences
• ALWAYS double-check recipient’s e-mail address

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Spelling Check & Auto-Correct
• Cardinal Rule – No Spelling Mistakes!

• You may use spell-check

• However, keep your eyes open & do not rely solely on

spell-check and auto-correct

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Requesting Read Receipts
• A read receipt is an “acknowledgment,” which tells the
sender that the recipient has opened the e-mail.
• Should only be sent when absolutely necessary
• In time-critical situations
• Or for very important mails
• Or for documentation
• Do not go over-board with ‘Read Receipts’
• User often perceived as a “control freak” or a “cynic,”
who doesn’t trust the receiver

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Auto-Responses & Out-of-Office Mails
• Auto-Responder – program that automatically sends a
reply with a predesigned response to any e-mail
address that sends e-mail to you
• Also known as infobot, autobot, auto-mailer, etc.
• Helpful when you have to send the same e-mail to
multiple e-mails
• Out-of-Office – used when you are not in office
• Informs the sender that you are not available
• Informs the receiver on alternate contacts

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Smiley & Emoticons
• Emoticons – (contraction of the words “emotional
icons”) are glyphs used in computer-mediated
communications, meant to represent facial
expressions
• Communicate emotional states
• Nonverbal surrogates, suggestive of facial expression
• Provides additional social cues
• Enhance the exchange of emotional information
• However, emoticons are informal
• Stick with emoticons that are commonly used

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CAPS & Grawlixes
• All CAPS = Shouting in computer-mediated
communication
• Difficult to read
• You may capitalize a word for ‘emphasis’
• Preferably use Sentence case

• Grawlixes – symbols used as a substitute for irreverent language

@@##$%#@#@#@
• Not to be used in formal communication

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Mass Mails/Spams & Phishing Mails
• Spams – unsolicited and unwanted e-mails
• Exercise caution with ‘reply-all’
• Do not ‘forward’ junk mails
• More serious problem – e-mail frauds
• Phishing – term derived from the attempt to “fish” for
the victim’s information
• Phishing e-mail looks like an official e-mail
• Phishing e-mail – clever forgery, credit card fraud, etc.
• 59 million phishing e-mails/day

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E-Mail Flaming & Mail Bombings
• Flame war – onslaught of aggression, insults & abuse
directed toward a target in response to a sent e-mail
• Baiter – whose message entices response
• Flamer – adds fuel to fire and fans the flame
• Troll – the dim-wit who gets sucked into the flame war
• E-mail bombing – malicious sending of numerous,
often identical messages to a particular recipient with
the intent of causing aggravation or, in extreme cases,
disabling the target’s mail server
• E-Stabbing @ Work – “Ccing a list of co-workers”

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Do’s of E-Mail Communication

• Double-check recipient’s e-mail address(es)

• Proofread e-mails
• Use small paragraphs instead of one large paragraph
• Keep sentences short and to-the-point (KISS)
• Request the recipient for acknowledgment mail
• Include original message thread when replying
• Protect yourself from viruses, spams, & e-mail frauds
• Scan attachments for viruses
• Include a suitable opening and closing

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Don’ts of E-Mail Communication
• Do NOT use ALL CAPS!
• Do NOT send confidential data over e-mails
• Do NOT overuse “Read Receipts”
• Do NOT reply to e-mails when angry or upset
• Do NOT use complex acronyms
• Do NOT use official e-mail for personal use
• Do NOT use weird colors and fonts
• Exercise caution with “Reply all”
• Do NOT use “Bcc” (unless absolutely necessary)

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