Email Etiquette

This page presents some simple guidelines for electronic mail etiquette.

1. Keep messages and replies brief
2. Use email in a professional manner. Remember, you cannot control where your message might be sent
3. Don't send replies to "all recipients" unless there is a very specific need for everyone to receive the message. It wastes disk space, clutters up inboxes and can be annoying
4. Be Concise: One of the many luxuries of email is its ability to answer a question or communicate a thought in a more quick and informal manner than a letter or a phone call. Keeping emails short helps to keep email more productive. Attention may drift if emails are too long.
5. The Use of Asterisks: Use asterisks to highlight a key word or thought for emphasis (i.e. thank you *very* much). Use asterisks only when necessary to highlight a point as overuse of asterisks may make the sender seem insincere.
6. Multiple Recipients Tip: to minimize the appearance of long distribution lists, send your intended email message to yourself (To: yourname@yourcompany.com) and blind courtesy copy (BCC: recipientsname@theircompany.com) all other recipients of your email message. Each recipient of your email message will see only his or her name at the top of the email message. When replying, keep messages brief and to the point. Don't reproduce a message in its entirety. Be selective with what you reproduce and only do it as needed
7. The Use of ALL CAPS: This is the online equivalent of shouting. Don't use a string of capital letters in your correspondence unless absolutely necessary.
8. Repeat Messages: Sending the same message to the same recipient more than once can be perceived as pestering a person. It is courteous to give recipients a chance to respond to a previous message before re-sending the original message. Many people send and receive email at regularly scheduled times of the day only.