1. Frank Hagy, CIO 09 November 2011

2. © Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved Professional Image The Organization’s Personal Legal Risks Liability Issues Copyright, trade secrets, etc. Productivity

3. © Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved Emails are not private, assume they are retained forever. Assume your email will be forwarded and read by others. You can be held legally responsible for any libelous or defamatory content. Does the email pass the “newspaper test?” If you would be embarrassed to see the email published on the front page of a newspaper, don’t put it into an email! If you would be embarrassed to see the email published on the front page of a newspaper, don’t put it into an email!

4. © Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved When not to email Extremely important or confidential information. Conducting negotiations. Communicating bad news. When you need an immediate response. When participants located close together. Complicated instructions. Email is a hybrid communication method Requires a degree of formality like a letter. Facilitates quick exchanges of information.

5. © Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved Signature block Who are you; name and title. Where you are from. Disclaimer/Public Records Notice Phone numbers? Friendly Feeling Who am I Disclaimer

6. © Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved Signature block (continued) Example of Public Records Notice PLEASE NOTE: Florida has a very broad public records law. Most written communications to or from the City of XXXX officials and employees regarding public business are public records available to the public and media upon request. Your e-mail communications may be subject to public disclosure. Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. The views expressed in this message may not necessarily reflect those of the Town of Jupiter. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message, and please delete it from your computer. Thank you.

7. © Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved Out of office assistant Use sparingly. Include useful information. Whether you will be checking email. When to expect a reply. Alternate contact. Do not indicate you will be out-of-town. Make the subject line meaningful. Use headings and blank lines rather than special formatting or tabs.

8. © Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved Addressing Use “To” and “CC” appropriately. Hide email address using the BCC when appropriate. Use “reply” and “reply all” appropriately.

9. © Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved Check file sizes for attachments. Never open an attachment from someone you don’t know. Don’t forward emails without a comment as to why it is being forwarded. Posting or forwarding an email could be a copyright infringement. Be sure you have permission.

10. © Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved Use proper spelling and punctuation… use the spell checker. Do not overuse “high priority” function. Do not use CAPITALS…it means your shouting. Be careful with abbreviations and emoticons. Do not request delivery / read receipts. Avoid using “Urgent” or “Important” in subject line. Keep it brief.

11. © Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved Do not use patterned backgrounds. Do not use fancy type. Refrain from using multicolored fonts. Never criticize other people or organizations in an email. READ YOUR EMAIL BEFORE YOU SEND IT…think about the tone of the email…is it appropriate. Always end emails with “Thank You”, “Sincerely”, “Best Regards”…..something!

12. © Florida League of Cities, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved