Email Etiquette
This is rather 'old school', but it includes useful and interesting information none-the-less.
The following is an excerpt from RFC 1855, and is generally based on common sense and courtesy, plus some more than you care to know.
RFC's, or "request for comments" are considered to be the official rules of the Internet.
This RFC on 'netiquette' is not enforced in any way, but only included as a curiosity.
You can search for RFC's on the Internet.
While they are numbered sequentially as each new one is written, and not organized in any particular manner, you can easily search for the subject of any RFC's published by using key words in a search engine.
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- Unless you are using an encryption device (hardware or software), you should assume that mail on the Internet is not secure.
Never put in a mail message anything you would not put on a postcard.
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- If you are forwarding or re-posting a message you've received, do not change the wording.
If the message was a personal message to you and you are re-posting to a group, you should ask permission first.
You may shorten the message and quote only relevant parts, but be sure you give proper attribution.
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- A good rule of thumb: Be conservative in what you send and liberal in what you receive.
You should not send heated messages (we call these "flames") even if you are provoked.
On the other hand, you shouldn't be surprised if you get flamed and it's prudent not to respond to flames.
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- Be careful when addressing mail.
There are addresses which may go to a group but the address looks like it is just one person.
Know to whom you are sending.
- Watch cc's when replying.
Don't continue to include people if the messages have become a 2-way conversation.
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- Remember that the recipient is a human being whose culture, language, and humor have different points of reference from your own.
Remember that date formats, measurements, and idioms may not travel well.
Be especially careful with sarcasm.
- Use mixed case. UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING.
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- Use smileys to indicate tone of voice, but use them sparingly.
:-) is an example of a smiley (Look sideways).
Don't assume that the inclusion of a smiley will make the recipient happy with what you say or wipe out an otherwise insulting comment.
- Wait overnight to send emotional responses to messages.
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- Be brief without being overly terse.
When replying to a message, include enough original material to be understood but no more.
It is extremely bad form to simply reply to a message by including all the previous message: edit out all the irrelevant material.
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- Mail should have a subject heading which reflects the content of the message.
- If you include a signature keep it short.
Rule of thumb is no longer than 4 lines.
Remember that many people pay for connectivity by the minute, and the longer your message is, the more they pay.
- Just as mail (today) may not be private, mail (and news) are (today) subject to forgery and spoofing of various degrees of detectability.
Apply common sense "reality checks" before assuming a message is valid.
- If you think the importance of a message justifies it, immediately reply briefly to an e-mail message to let the sender know you got it, even if you will send a longer reply later.
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- Know how large a message you are sending.
Including large files such as Postscript files or programs may make your message so large that it cannot be delivered or at least consumes excessive resources.
A good rule of thumb would be not to send a file larger than 50 Kilobytes.
Consider file transfer as an alternative, or cutting the file into smaller chunks and sending each as a separate message.
- Don't send large amounts of unsolicited information to people.
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