Dos and Donts

Practicalities and Netiquette

Replying to e-mails

E-mail programs like to quote the sender when you set out to reply to an e-mail. Most of the time the sender remembers quite well what they said. So! Delete the text before you start your reply. If you really think that the sender needs reminding of what they said, paraphrase their words succinctly in your reply.

Use capital letters sparingly. Overuse of capitals is considered shouting. Don't shout!

Never consider that e-mails are a secure form of communication. They can turn up in the wrong in-box. Never be abusive, even slightly. E-mails seem to greatly magnify abuse.

Originating e-mails

One great use of e-mails is that if you belong to a club, or other organisation, you can reach a whole lot of people with one e-mail. All you have to do create a group or select your group from your contact list.

Attachments to emails

An attachment to an email usually means a picture. An attachment can be made in two ways. It can be inserted into the message, or it can be sent as an attachment. The first means less work for the recipient to do in order to see it. However, many people run their email programs in a text-only mode for safety. With the second method, the picture appears as a file icon at the bottom of the message with an option to save it. It can then be viewed in your graphics programs.

Word processor files and other sorts of files can also be sent in this way.