Web and Email Hosting from Richard Daley Associates

Just like many areas of life there isn't universal agreement about what constitutes good practice in the content and sending of email. Below, in no particular order, are some of the problems with email etiquette and also style issues we see with newcomers to email and also with some old-timers who have used email for many years. Feel free to disagree but at least think about it.

There are plenty of other websites providing advice in this area so do a search on email etiquette and see what you find.

1) DON'T SHOUT. Using only capitals in an email is the equivalent of shouting. So it is best to avoid.

2) If you receive and email and you want to respond to it then it is best to use the "reply" option not the "Forward" option of your email program. Most programs have this. If it doesn't then look for a email program that does. Click here on our list of possible email programs, sometimes referred to as email clients.

3) Use Forward (FW) correctly. Forward shouldn't be used to reply to an email. What you doing when you use forward is "forwarding", that is, sending on an email you received to others who you want to see the email. Make sure the email only contains what you want them to know. If you reply to someone using the "Forward" option and they had sent you an attachment then you will send them a copy of their own attachment--which they don't need, won't appreciate. Additionally the email will take longer to send and receive. Using the "reply" option will not include attachments. See below for comments on attachments.

4) If sending an email to lots of recipients ask yourself whether they should see who else is receiving the email. If they are all friends with you and each other or work in the same company or on the same project then it's probably okay. If the recipients are only connected by knowing you then it is best to use BCC (Blind Carbon Copy). Most email programs allow you to identify who the email is going to (To:), who is being copied (CC:) and who is being blind copied (BCC:). Placing an email address in the TO: or CC: fields will means everybody will see that person received the email. If you put the email address in the BCC then the other recipients are unaware that person has received the email. Often people reply to an email and it goes to not just the sender of the original email but to everyone who was in the TO: and CC: list. This doesn't happen if the BCC list is used.

Another advantage of using BCC when there are lots of recipients is that anyone reading the email doesn't have to scroll through a page or two of email addresses of those who also received the email.

5) Use the Subject field. It helps people who receive lots of emails and possibly yourself if you identify an email with a subject that is meaningful. You will be able to find the email again more easily in the future.

6) Don't send a new message (i.e. with a new subject) by replying to an old email. This is often done but the new email is typically not a continuation of the original subject. Firstly it can make it difficult to locate the email in the future and, secondly, the recipient might miss it because of the way they view their email, especially if the original email is quite old.

7) When setting up your email address you are often asked to provide your name. Many people just enter their first name. It may be better to put your complete name because there are many Freds and Jims and Janes out there and it may be confusing to the recipient about who sent the email.

8) Setup a signature. Most email programs allow you to create a signature which is appended to all emails. In the signature you can put your email address, web address, phone number, company, company address. Anything, in fact, which might help recipients contact you at some point in the future. Some companies use this to add disclaimers to all emails sent.

9) Many users don't realise that their email program may send a formatted email (coloured text, different size text etc) often referred to as MIME or HTML email and also a plain text version (where all the text is the same colour and size). Unfortunately not all email programs recognise this formatted email and their users are often frustrated by receiving these incomprehensive emails. Typically it is possible in most email programs to change the default setting for sending email, so, for example, you might change the default setting to be to send emails as plain text only. Obviously this is, in part, a personal preference as well as something to do with the ability of your email program. Sometimes an email recipient may contact you to ask to send plain text-only or HTML-only emails. Regardless of your default setting you should try and oblige. Often in the address book you use you can indicate how an email should be sent to a particular recipient.

10) Think carefully about attachments. Will the recipient be able to read the files you send as attachments. If the attachment was created in some unusual program that not many have this will be a problem for the recipient who may not be able to read it as they cannot open the attachment. These days, particularly with use of powerful digital cameras, it is very easy to create large files which you then send as an attachment. If the files are large you might be better off posting them on a CD or at least send them one attachment per email.

Many systems place limits on the size of emails. It tends to be attachments that cause emails to be too large. If the email is considered to be too big it may not be sent or if sent may not be received. Quite frequently you can make a file or group of files smaller by placing them in a zip file. A discussion on zip files is beyond the scope of this web page, however it should be noted that zip files are supported by Windows XP automatically as compressed folders.

If sending an email to several recipients and you plan to send attachments ask yourself if every recipient wants to receive the attachment(s). It may be preferable to send the attachment to just one person in a company and inform everyone else who has received the attachment. Also, please remember, if you "Forward" an email then any attachments to that email are also forwarded.

11) Mail box limits. Some systems place limits on the total size of the user's mailbox. In this situation a user may not received their email because their mailbox is over the quota provided. It is important for such users to delete email regularly from their mailbox to ensure that their is sufficient space for new emails.

12) Forwards of forwards and so on.

When something interesting is received it is often forwarded to somebody else and rapidly a chain if a forward of a forward of a forward happens. When receiving such emails they are often extremely difficult to read and if they contain an attachment it may be difficult to read the attachment or even find the attachment. Often, it is better to send a new email and copy and paste from the received email to the new email. If the original email contained an attachment then save the attachment to your disk and then attach to the saved file to the new email.

If you do find that you receive one of these types of email where the forwarding has caused the text to be heavily indented like the following:

The following link refers to a program emailstripper may help you. Please note that your use of this program is not our responsibility. It has been recommended to us but it isn't used by us.