eMail NetiQuette

What is spam?

Spam is the internet equivalent of junk mail. The difference is that it arrives as email, so can be a nuisance, and it downloads in your time, so wastes money. Wherever you go on the internet, you are invited to leave your email address; many sites will sell this information to dealers who sell it on to spammers. If you visit a news group, chat room or bulletin board, your email address may be 'harvested' and used by spammers.

Spam is bad manners, breaks the rules of all reputable service providers, and is often illegal.

How do I deal with spam?

The simplest method is simply to delete it. Most harmless and will not be repeated.

Never, ever, reply to spam. A reply simply confirms that your email address is active, and therefore more likely to be reused. Dealing with spammers is the fastest known method of being robbed. Spam offers usually sound too good to be true, for the simple reason that they are too good to be true. Many spammers use service providers in Eastern Europe, though the email may be falsified to appear to come through a reputable source. Once you pass your credit card details, your account will be drained very fast and efficiently, with little chance of recompense.

If spam is persistent, threatening or simply a nuisance you can set up mail filters through your browser to block it; this has limited benefit because spam emanates from so many addresses - and often the senders details are forged or otherwise falsified. If you do know the source, you can forward the whole post to their service provider's abuse department - usually abuse@[providername] . If you cannot trace the source, it can be useful to forward the mail to your own provider's abuse department: if enough people complain, most ISPs will trace the source and forward the complaint to the appropriate department.

  What is ">>" down the left margin?

Many browsers automatically add the 'greater than' symbol to the left of each line of quoted text. It distinguishes quotations from different senders, helping respondents to avoid errors in attribution.

So an email in reply to a question might include the original question, with '>' indicating the quoted text. It is rarely necessary to quote a message in its entirety - just enough so that the recipient knows what you are referring to. A four part "conversation" might appear as:

> > > Do I have to include all these ">>"
> > No, but it does show what you are
> > quoting and what is your reply.
> But I do have to?
No - you can change the settings on your browser

  How formal should business email be?

In general, email is quite informal, but a business posting would avoid too many abbreviations and would exclude slang. Capitalization would follow written rules. A formal endnote is often appreciated; such as:

Thank you in anticipation,
<First Name>
<Initials and Last Name>
<Company Name>
<Any useful contact information>

If replying to business communication, be guided by their style.

... And what about responding to email?

The Netiquette of replying is quite straightforward:

• Any personallly-addressed mail from a human being deserves a response, even if only an acknowledgement.

• A full reply required should be sent within a few days, else a 'holding note' should go, to confirm receipt.

• Unless constrained by 'official policy', the response should of similar formality to the one received.

• The reply should include the note replied to for reference (but extended footnotes and all previous matter should be excluded).

  How do I ensure a reply to my mail?

Failing to respond to email is, on the face of it, bad manners - but it may involve several issues, such as unfamiliarity with the web, fear of the whole system, or the error of thinking that time saving is for one person only!
There's no 'right' answer', but these tips may be helpful:

1. Get in the habit of adding 'I look forward to hearing from you', or a similar note, to all your mail to that person.

2. Be a little devious; try to not give all the information, so that they will need to respond to to get the whole picture.

3. Try writing "I've received some information you may find useful - I've not attached it, but I'll forward it once I get your response to my note" - In other words, turn it around; give an incentive to respond, to encourage the habit.

But do be careful; not receiving a response may be a little frustrating, but you don't want to damage the organisation over such an issue!

What are the rules about capitalization?

WRITING IN BLOCK CAPITALS IS UNNNECESSARY AND IS INTERPRETED BY MANY AS SHOUTING. Expect a rude reply!

using all lower case is odd, especially if i do it all the time. it might look quaint but some read it as laziness. Expect no reply!

Using the usual case is recommended; The use of lower case and upper case evolved over many years; it is legible and requires little effort of reader or writer.

  Is email private?

Not completely. If you use email in an organisation (work or college) then there are staff who have free access to what you send and receive. In most cases, they have better things to do. But if you were (for example) under suspicion of passing company secrets, then this access could become an issue. Email from home passes though a server shared by millions of individual emails, but the theoretical risk remains.

Even a deleted email probably still exists on a server somewhere, and could be retrieved if required - such emails have been used as evidence in court cases.

Email can be encrypted, and systems exist that have defied all attempts at decoding; but thse do involve extra work and invite suspicion ("what is being hidden?"). For more on encryption, see The International PGP Home Page

  How can I limit unwanted mail?

Most internet users receive unwanted mail. The amount depends on your job, your ISP (internet service provider), and your internet activity. You might have to tolerate mail resulting from your job; you might consider reviewing your ISP (particularly if a lot of the mail comes from the ISP!), and you can monitor your internet activity.

Many sites ask you for your email address, and may sell on the lsts they compile. Others may scour newsgroups and mailing lists, scavenging all users. It is impossible to defend against all these; but wise to think before volunteering such information.

Most mailing software can set up mail filters ("kill files") which can automatically delete or file post from selected senders, on selected topics or containing selected words. It is worth divertng such mail to a special folder, rather than deleting, to allow for monitoring how the filters work and ensure that desired mail is not being caught by an over-inclusive setup (filtering for "money" will catch most get rich quick schemes - but will also catch some mail from friends or colleagues).

  What is "Flaming"?

Flaming ('insulting criticism or remark meant to incite anger') has come to refer to almost any mail insult. Originating in usenet, flames were carefully honed responses to real or perceived insults; sarcastic, artistic, often literary in allusion. The art has long since disappeared, and flame wars can be abusive, aggressive and unpleasant exchanges in newsgroups, mailing lists and email. They are a serious reminder that it is vital to think before mailing; an insult cannot be withdrawn. Find out more.

 How can a polite reply hurt anyone?

Very easily. Pressing the reply button can vary in its effect, depending on the software you use and how it is set up. Your reply may be automatically copied to all who received the first post, not just the sender. The contents may include all of the original post; if you choose to "quote original" but have been reading another post since you read the one you are replying to, it is possible to quote from the wrong mail.

And your reply, however polite, may be taken out of context and might cause inadvertent pain - easily done when responding around the world, with such variation among cultures (Never forget that England and America are "divided by a common language").

  Why are people easily upset on the Internet?

The internet combines features of both the written and the spoken word, but lacks what we all take for granted in speech; visible and audible cues. Thus a 'smart' comment can become biting sarcasm, a verbal tease can become a mortal insult.

Two solutions have evolved:
The vile and ubiquitous emoticon ;-)
The cumbersome but <witty> emotag </witty>

Emoticons are the work of seconds from any keyboard, and are widely understood. On the other hand, some people find them trite, facile and irredeemably stupid :- (

Emotags mimic the text tags used in HTML coding. They take a little thought and might not be worth that effort - but, arguably, they could not be worse than <DIRE> emoticons </DIRE>

  Is it rude to request a receipt?

Some people consider a receipt request to be a gross violation of privacy.
"why should anyone know when I read my mail?"
"they are checking up on me"
"it is putting unfair pressure on me to reply."
Others really do not mind. There is an argument that you would not send every item of "snail mail" by recorded delivery - an electronic receipt is requested "because I can" rather than "because I need it".

There may be times when a receipt is entirely appropriate - if there has been a server problem, for example, or if there is a time-limited discussion in progress.

Many mailing systems have an option of denying all receipt requests; many people use this facility.

  Is it OK to answer an email 'piecemeal'?

Sometimes a reply comes with the original message dissected and answered piecemeal.

if someone is replying to a complex post - or one making several separate points, then there is much to be said for responding to each point separately - especially if they agree with some and not with others.

But the problem may not be what they do - but how they do it.

If their reply is intended to ridicule, bully or otherwise hurt, then they are wrong, whether doing it bit by bit - or all in one go. Answering individual points of the email by breaking it down could be seen as "high horsing" - and a little intimidating.

Personally, I rarely use the piecemeal approach, and on reflection, it's almost always in response to very long posts - I just repeat the bits I intend to respond to - but I always take at least a sentence - usually a whole paragraph - to be sure I don't quote out of context.

If they do it in order to twist your words, that's unforgiveable!

How this page works ...

This page is to help anyone with an interest in Netiquette - or simply in the use of the internet. If you want to ask a supplementary question, write to me - I do not promise an answer - but I'll help if I can, and may add it to this page.

I welcome your views on the whole idea - did you find it useful?

Thanks to James Frizzell, Edward Rogers