E-Mail Etiquette Are you e-mail-happy; that is, do you send too much? Did you send an e-mail that was misunderstood? Did the message you thought you sent to one person go to 100 instead? In all human interaction there are rules for acceptable behavior. E-mail is no different. Since e-mail has become a common means of communication–and miscommunication–around the office, we decided to share points of proper conduct—E-Mail Etiquette. So, in keeping with good email etiquette, rather than blasting you with several tips all at once, we will be sharing e-mail etiquette do’s and don’ts from those well versed in electronic communications over the next five weeks. So let's get started – Week 1. Be concise and get to your point as quickly as possible. Okay. Next...

E-Mail Etiquette – Week 1 Do check to see what Fremont Investment & Loan’s (FIL) email policy is. FIL has rules about the types of messages that can be sent, including if your email is monitored or screened. Do ensure that you have a relevant "Subject" line. Do try to think about the message content before you send it out. Do include a brief signature on your email messages to help the recipient understand who it is from, and how to contact you, especially if you are dealing with someone you do not know very well. Don't reply to an email message when angry, as you may regret it later. Once the message has been sent or read, you will not be able to recover it. Don't keep mail on your computing device longer than necessary, especially large attachments. Sort and clean your Inbox to assist us in keeping the mail servers performing optimally. Don't type in CAPITALS as this is considered to be SHOUTING. This is one of the rudest things you can do. Don't send a short message as an attachment. Simply copy it into the body of the email. Stay Tuned…..More Tips Coming Next Week

E-Mail Etiquette – Week 2 Do use emphasis where it’s useful to do so. Common conventions are to use bold, italics, or a “star” on either side of the word. Do be polite. Terseness can be misinterpreted. Do remember to delete anything that isn't needed or is trivial. Do try to use humor and irony sparingly. You can use smileys such as :) or :( to indicate facial expressions, but make sure that the recipient understands what they mean. Don't over-use punctuation such as exclamation marks ("!") as these are meant to be for emphasis. In particular, avoid more than one exclamation mark ("!!"), especially if your email is quite formal. Also, over-use of the full-stop (e.g. "....") can make a message difficult to read. Don't send announcements, events or company function type messages. FILConnect is great for posting company functions, announcements, and events. Discuss posting functions with your Portal Content Manager. Don't send large attachments without checking with the recipient first. Again, FILConnect should be used to store documents. You can include a link to documents stored on FILConnect instead of attaching documents to an email. Click here to access Email Etiquette on FILConnect

E-Mail Etiquette – Week 3 Do make sure that the content is relevant and meaningful to the recipients. Nobody likes to receive junk email. Do try to quote from the original message where relevant. You can break the quoted message down into paragraphs and comment on them individually to make it clearer. Do be understanding of inexperienced email users you come across. Just because you are familiar with email etiquette, it doesn't mean that they are. Suggest they visit FILConnect to learn more about email etiquette. Don't send excessive multiple postings to people who have no interest. This is known as "spamming" and is inconsiderate. Don't send chain letters or "make money fast" messages. There are several hoaxes sent via email to do with viruses - never pass these on without checking with your IT department first. Don't criticize people's spelling, it is considered petty. Many people have no way of running a spell check on their messages and will make typos. Not all nationalities spell words in the same way. Click here to access Email Etiquette on FILConnect

E-Mail Etiquette – Week 4 Do be careful when replying to messages sent to many recipients, or messages that contain a distribution list. Are you sure you want to reply to the whole list? Do remember to tell people the format of any attachments you send if they're anything other than basic Microsoft Office file types. Do tell the person that sent you a message, if you forward the message to somebody else to deal with, so they know who to expect a reply from. Don't conduct arguments in public (email), for example on a mailing list. Rather, pick-up the phone or walk over to the recipient’s cubicle or office. Don't make personal remarks about third parties. Email messages can come back to haunt you. Don't "flame" people by sending them abusive email messages. Don't discuss salary, promotions, or confidential information in an email. To broach the subject, send a one-line message to schedule a meeting. Click here to access Email Etiquette on FILConnect

E-Mail Etiquette – Week 5 Do use a signature (few lines of text) at the bottom of every email you send. This is a great way to give necessary information (anytime you ask someone to fax you, be sure your fax number is at the bottom of the message). Do try to respond to a business e-mail within 24 hours, and a personal message within 24-48 hours. If you expect a reply, include that in the text of your message, especially if you have a specific deadline to gather information. Do trim any quoted message down as much as possible. Users do not care to read lengthy messages—they are interested in the main point. Don't use an over-elaborate signature on your email message such as a business card image that contains your name, title, company name, address, phone, fax, and mobile numbers. Never, ever, use scanned images in a signature as these tend to be very large. Don't mark things as urgent if they aren't, because then when you really do have an urgent message it may not be treated in the way it deserves. Don't post your email address on web sites and other public parts of the Internet unless you want to be deluged with spam. Don't send unsuitable email or attachments, especially anything of a sexual nature since this is against company policy. Click here to access Email Etiquette on FILConnect