Netiquette: The Art of E-Mail Etiquette, Part 3

SAVE A TREE

Sometimes I think that the best thing that could happen would be for someone to take away the computer printer. Why? Because, every time I send an E-mail out to a large group, a third of the group will print the message even before reading it, a third will read it and then print it, and only the last third will simply read and delete it.

One of the goals for E-mail usage is to eliminate (or greatly reduce) the shuffling of paper. But what chance is there of this occurring if a significant number of people print every message they receive? I'm not saying that it's never appropriate or necessary to print a message. I'm saying that too many messages are printed for no reason. Worse, a lot are printed and then never retrieved from the printer.

Unless you have a very primitive E-mail system, it probably has some file system (usually called "folders") that can be used to store messages for recall at any time in the future. If the people who print every message for paper file systems would simply create the same structure in their E-mail program using folders, or their system's equivalent, it would accomplish the same goal, -- and save an enormous amount of paper (and trees.)

PRIVACY, ARE YOU KIDDING?

Stop right where you are and pay close attention to the following statement: "There is no such thing as a private E-mail". I don't care what anybody says, states, swears or promises, there is simply no such thing as private E-mail.

With some E-mail systems, the administrator has the ability to read any and all E-mail messages. If this is the case for you, hope that there's a honest and respectable person in that position.

Some companies monitor employee E-mail. The reasons for this obtrusive behavior range from company management wanting to make sure users are not wasting time on frivolous messages to making sure that company secrets are not being leaked to unauthorized sources.

But even if your company does not monitor or filter your mail, E-mail software is like all software in that occasionally things go wrong. If this happens, you may end up receiving E-mail meant for another person or your E-mail may get sent to the wrong person. Either way, what you thought was private is not private anymore.

Your E-mail might also suffer from intentional disruption or prying. Somewhere in the world there is a person (usually a hacker) who is able to read your E-mail if he/she tries hard enough. Of course "Tries hard enough" is the key. It's not that simple to read another person's E-mail; there are usually security measures in place to prevent this from happening. But no security system is one hundred percent hacker-proof. Of course, security systems can only work if they are properly in place so you be sure that the person/persons who install and operate your e-mail system have taken the necessary precautions. Of course, the same must should hold true for the person/persons on the receiving end of your E-mail. Otherwise, all privacy bets are off.

So where does this leave us? Let me reiterate my initial statement: There is no such thing as a private E-mail. With that as a given, don't send anything by E-mail that you would not want posted on the company bulletin board. Finally, if you're debating whether or not to send a personal message via E-mail, if you have any doubt at all, play it safe and either deliver it by hand, use a courier or the U.S. postal service.

FLAMES

To be "flamed" means that you've received a response to an E-mail you sent someone that is heated, caustic and strongly worded. It's basically a verbal attack in electronic form. I would provide examples, but I don't want to end up getting flamed from the readers.

Sometimes the reason for a flame is quite obvious (keep reading), but in other cases you just never know. You might send what you think is a harmless E-mail to 10 people. Nine people respond in a rational tone while the tenth flames you. Just remember that everyone sees the world differently. You may be lucky and spend your whole life dealing only with the people who make up the nine. But I'll bet that sooner or later you will run into person 10.

How do you respond to a flame? Tough question. The best answer would be to ignore it and go about your life as a logical and rational human being. If this is not your first reaction, it probably will be after you've been flamed a couple of dozen times. You will find out that responding just isn't worth the effort. Remember that old saying about "You can please some of the people..."

If you do respond you'll probably end up fighting a "flame war" in which two or more people end up exchanging flames for an extended period of time, usually to the point that users start making references to one's mother, mental capability, etc. At some point, all those participating in the war will eventually forget what originally started it and go back to being normal human beings.

To avoid being flamed, I'd recommend that you:

• Never send a mass e- mail ad ("spamming"). This is will generate more flames than the devil himself. Think about the amount of junk mail you receive everyday by snail mail. (Traditional methods of delivering mail are called 'snail mail' because of how long it takes to receive a message in contrast to the relative immediacy of e-mail.) Even though you don't want junk mail, you find you must look through all of it because somewhere in that stack of unwanted advertisements and wasted paper could be your monthly water bill. The same principle applies to e-mail. Would you want to search through a mailbox full of advertisements simply to find that all-important message from your boss?
• Avoid sending an e-mail in all UPPER-CASE. Using upper-case characters is the equivalent of shouting in some one's ear. ONLY use upper-case words when trying to make a point (such as I just did). Even at that, you should be careful with whom you are exchanging messages.
• Don't make a comment about the grammar or punctuation in a message you've received.. Nobody wants to feel like they are exchanging e-mail with their eighth-grade English teacher.
• Don't request computer help without providing system-specific information. For example, if I submitted an e-mail that stated "I've got this problem with Word...". Well is that MS Word for DOS, MS Word for Windows, MS Word for Macs? What version? Version 2.0? Version 6.0? Remember, the computer world is made up of every kind of computer imaginable, from IBM PC's to Macs to UNIX workstations to the one your neighbor assembled in his garage.
The correct method would be to list all the system specifics first, then describe the problem or question. For example, if I were seeking answers to questions about Microsoft Word for my computer at home, I would list Gizmo Model SR-32 (Microchannel Clone, 486-66Mhz, 16MB RAM, 400MB SCSI hard disk), MS DOS 6.22, MS Windows 3.11, MS Word 6.0a and then state the problem in detail.


• Never send a e-mail asking for the meaning of BTW or :-) . If you've not already found these in this document, keep reading. E-mail users use lots of abbreviations (not everyone can type 200 words a minute) and other funny characters ("emoticons"). These are two of the more common examples-"BTW" is the equivalent of "by the way" and :-) is a happy face or smile (turn your head to the left.)