Now that we are all staying in our homes or only going out when necessary, it is more important than ever to keep in contact with our friends, family and business associates for reasons I don’t think I have to enumerate.  

By no means am I the expert on internet etiquiette, but I do want to share a few simple rules of email. 

When sending an email:

  1. Use a clear subject line in your email so it can be found more easily with the search function.
  2. Edit your email for grammar and punctuation.  You certainly don’t want people thinking your education ended in the 3rd grade, so proofreading  your email before you send it is very important.
  3. Don’t send an email in all caps.  Keep your message short and concise and avoid too many attachments. 
  4. By the way, don’t get caught up in chain letters, no matter what good luck it says it will bring you, they don’t work!  The person starting the chain letter is doing it to get email addresses from wherever they can.  If you think everyone on the internet is honest and wants to be your friend, wake up.  There are more underhanded scams than you can ever imagine.

When receiving an email:

  1. One of the major rules of email etiquette is to ANSWER YOUR EMAIL!!!  When you get an email, or a text for that matter, it would take a second to send the word “okay” or “fine” or “sure.”  Even the emoji “thumbs up” would be better than ignoring correspondence that someone took the time to send you.   
  2. Keep your email short and to the point.  Most people don’t like to read so you don’t want to give them a reason to ignore your email.
  3. When the email is addressed to more than you, the “reply to all” button should be used, unless, of course, your response would not be appropriate to all the recipients.
  4. Don’t send an email with a subject that would be better shared face to face (example:  Quitting a job, divorcing your mate, etc).
    Remember that once you put anything on the internet, you can’t take it back, so think twice or three times before you hit that send button.

If you have anything you would like to add to the list, please feel free to comment.  No emails please!

Stay safe and have a happy week.