ASK MR. MODEM

Brush Up Your Netiquette!

The Perfect Subject Line . . . When to ‘Return to Sender’ . . .

How to Avoid Sounding Like a Spammer . . . and More!

Second of 4 Parts

By Richard A. Sherman

hether you're new to the world of e-mail or you’ve been communicating online for years, it's important to keep your e-mail skills and practices current. Picking up where I left off in Part I of “Brush Up Your Netiquette!” in this article, we'll continue with more protocols of the “New Netiquette.” Below you’ll find Rules 11 to 20. By the time we’re through, you’ll have 40 ways to win friends and impress clients via your electronic correspondence.

Because Cyber-Manners Do Matter . . .

            11. Check your e-mail daily. If you include your e-mail address on your business card or letterhead, you’re placing the world on notice that e-mail is a viable means of contacting you. So if you share your e-mail address with others, you have an obligation to check your e-mail daily.

            12. Don’t send e-mail, then telephone the recipient and ask, “Did you get my e-mail?” Be patient. Twenty-four hours or through the next business day is an appropriate amount of time to wait for a response. Following up with another e-mail after that is fine, but keep it light: “It’s been a day or two since I contacted you. I didn’t receive a response, so I wanted to check to be sure you received it.” If another 24 to 48 hours pass without a response, consider that lack of response as your response. If you send e-mail to an invalid or inaccurate e-mail address, chances are it will bounce back to you as “Undeliverable,” so you’ll know it didn’t arrive. Otherwise, assume your e-mail arrived as intended.

            13. Remember that all Internet connections are not equal. If you have high-speed access to the Internet, good for you. But don’t assume that everybody else does. Before you send a 10MB file attachment and tie up your recipient’s connection for hours, request permission or ask if there’s a preferred time to send that large file. Be sensitive to the time your e-mail is going to require of other individuals. The last thing a busy e-mail recipient wants is to be held hostage for an hour, while digital photos of your kayaking trip download. 

            14. Avoid attaching files. Attachments can be carriers of viruses and are a source of concern to most recipients. The ability to send e-mail does not give you the right to place a file on another person’s computer. If you must send a file, be sure to include information about the file in the body of your e-mail. Tell the recipient what the name of the attached file is and what it contains. Include a disclaimer, stating that you have checked the file for viruses (if true) and that you believe it to be virus-free, but can’t guarantee it. Always encourage recipients to check files for viruses.

            15. Check incoming files for viruses. If you are the recipient of an e-mail attachment, don’t open it without checking it for viruses by using an updated virus-checking program. If you haven’t updated your antivirus software recently, visit the software’s Web site and download current virus definitions. Update your software as recommended by the software vendor. Mr. Modem’s favorite antivirus software: Norton AntiVirus (www.symantec.com).

            16. Don’t assume that every recipient can view every file format. There is nothing that frustrates an e-mail recipient more than receiving an attachment that is impossible to open, because it was sent in an unreadable format. If you plan to send an Excel spreadsheet, for example, ask the recipient if he or she has Excel installed. Not all e-mail programs can display HTML messages, either, so if you’re including HTML or some other format that may look great on your system, don’t assume that your recipient has the same capability or is using the same e-mail program that you’re using.

            17. If you get someone else’s mail, return to sender. Let the sender know if you receive an e-mail intended for somebody else. Just send a quick reply: “Sorry, but I received this e-mail in error. I’m not the person you intended to send it to.” Your response will be appreciated.

            18. Don’t overuse the “High Priority” designation. Most e-mail recipients routinely ignore priority labels, because so many spammers (senders of junk e-mail) label their messages “High Priority.” Your sense of urgency is generally a big ho-hum to your recipient anyway, and you don’t want your messages to be confused with spam.

            19. Use a meaningful, specific subject line. Include a subject that provides some insight into the focus of your e-mail. For example, when you’re requesting help about a particular topic, it’s better to say “Help with Windows XP,” or “Help copying files,” rather than simply “Help.”

            20. Finish What You Start. While we’re on the subject of subject lines, don’t use them to start a sentence, then finish the sentence in the body of the e-mail. It’s not only annoying but some e-mail programs do not display the subject line once e-mail is opened, so the first sentence in the body of your e-mail may read like an incomprehensible fragment.

Coming next month, Part 3 of “The New Netiquette.”

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Richard A. Sherman, a k a Mr. Modem, is a nationally syndicated columnist, whose “Ask Mr. Modem!” column appears in more than 60 publications throughout the U.S. and in Canada. As publisher of the popular “Ask Mr. Modem” weekly newsletter, he provides easy-to-understand, non-technical, computer- and Internet-related answers to questions received from subscribers worldwide. He is the author of eight books, including “Mr. Modem’s Internet Guide for Seniors” (Sybex) and “Ask Mr. Modem,” a collection of hundreds of frequently asked computer and Internet questions received from readers. Richard is a contributing editor to TechTV and host of the daily "Mr. Modem Minute" television segment produced by FOX-TV.

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