Sharpen Your Netiquette

Netiquette. What's that?

Well, in case you didn't know, Netiquette is the proper use of e-mail.
Because we all spend a large portion of our day communicating with customers,
vendors and co-workers via e-mail, here are some tips to help you polish your
e-mail skills and send you on your way to Netiquette success.

Short & Sweet
Keep your messages concise and to the point.

Cluless In . . .
The subject line can be a couple of words or a short phrase that gives the
reader a hint to the contents of your message.

ARE YOU ANGRY?
The use of UPPERCASE text is the equivalent of yelling in the world of
e-mail. Lower the case and, thus, your e-mail voice.

Are You Still Angry!!!??
Watch out for excessive punctuation like exclamation points. If something is
important, put it in words, not exclamation points.

We Can Become Too Attached
Think of your reader and, whenever possible, put your message in the body of
the e-mail rather than in an attachment.

Does Everyone Need To Know?
Be careful when you send replies to "all recipients" of an e-mail. Ask
yourself if everyone really needs to see your response. If not, you'll be
using up disk space, cluttering inboxes and slowing the mail servers
unnecessarily.

Spellcheck Is Your Friend
Like printed documents, e-mail deserves a review to assure that grammar and
spelling are correct.

Privacy On The Net?
There is no such thing as private e-mail. Never send anything by e-mail that
you would not want to see on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper. There
are no security guarantees with electronic mail.

Eyes Only In Cyberspace
Avoid sending any confidential or sensitive information via e-mail.
Remember, it's very easy for someone else to forward messages you considered
confidential. Even messages sent as "Confidential" can be copied.

Quick Tips -- Refine Your Skills
Long paragraphs are hard to read. Break them up into smaller ones of two to
three sentences.
The use of abbreviations should be minimal.
When sending e-mail outside Enron, keep it plain and simple. That means no
elaborate use of formatting tools, such as bold, indent, etc.
Your e-mail signature should be the same one you use on printed documents.
Address people in business e-mail the same way you normally would in person
or in a letter (e.g., Bob: or Ms. Smith:)
Sarcasm is dangerous to use in e-mail. Remember, e-mail does not convey
emotions.