Sabanci Workshop:
Netiquette on Email
Etiquette on the Internet is called "netiquette." Here are some
suggestions for netiquette on email. A good list of recommendations for
netiquette on mailing lists is the Student Lists "Welcome Message to
Students"
message by Lonnie Turbee at
http://www.kyoto-su.ac.jp/~trobb/pci/html/slwelcome.html.
A. Be polite. While email is informal, it's still writing rather than
speech. Something that you can say as a joke often doesn't sound funny in
writing.
Look at the following. Rank order them from most polite to least polite.
- I'd like some help with my project next week. When are you free?
- Sorry I didn't come to your party yesterday -- I was busy. Who
wants to see you, anyway!
- I'm having some problems figuring out how to write my essay. I get
started, but then it's hard to keep going. Would you have some time to
help me with this? If so, would Wednesday at 2:00 work for you?
- Great job with dinner yesterday! I loved the food and the friends
you had over. Anytime you feel like cooking, I feel like eating!
Which one would be the best to use with your teacher? Your friends?
Someone you don't like much?
B. Have a clear subject on the Subject: line. Your message is more
likely to be read and responded to that way. Which of the following would
be easy to understand? Which are unclear?
My project
- Yesterday
- Our meeting at 2:00 tomorrow
- Homework for English class Tuesday
- Your message
Remember that you can change the subject in a Reply if it makes your
message clearer.
C. Be discreet. It is easy to print email and to forward it to other
people. Don't write anything in email that you would not want to see on
the front page of the newspaper tomorrow.
Can you think of something that you might say in person but would not
want to send in an email message?
D. Focus your message, and keep it short.
E. In a reply, copy just enough of the original message so that your
message is understandable to the person to whom you're replying. Just
saying "Yes" doesn't work -- help the reader remember what you're talking
about. It's confusing if you include too much of the original message,
too. Focus on the point, and delete the rest.
Here's an example. You read the message below, and now you want to ask
where to buy the software.What should you leave in, and what should you
take out of the following when you reply?
Original message:
Several people are looking for suggestions about low-level writing and
reading
software. A favorite here at the ELI is NewReader from Hyperbole
Software
(a Mac-only program). You can take any plain-text document, such as a
reading related to something in their textbook, put it in the
NewReader
folder, and the program can manipulate it from there. What we use most
are
paced reading, timed reading, cloze, sentence and paragraph jumbles,
and
the grammar-based clozes. Unlike Speed Reader, you can't create
comprehension questions for a reading, but you have the tradeoff in ease
of
adding new texts. NewReader has largely supplanted Speed Reader for us.
We
also have VersaText, which lets you create clozes and have
comprehension
questions, but none of our teachers ever felt like authoring with it, so
we
basically don't use it any more.
Which of these would be the best reply?
- You recently mentioned NewReader from Hyperbole Software. Where can I
buy it?
- Where can I get it?
- You said,
Several people are looking for suggestions about low-level writing and
reading
software. A favorite here at the ELI is NewReader from Hyperbole Software
(a Mac-only program). You can take any plain-text document, such as a
reading related to something in their textbook, put it in the NewReader
folder, and the program can manipulate it from there. What we use most are
paced reading, timed reading, cloze, sentence and paragraph jumbles, and
the grammar-based clozes.
Where can I buy it?
F. Identify yourself. It's both useful and polite to put your name at
the end of your message. Some mail programs make it hard to see the email
address of the sender, so it helps to put your email address at the end of
the message.
Some people add far too much to their "signature" at the end of a
message. When the information about you is longer than your message, you
know you've got a problem with it.
G. Attachments can create problems. They don't always work correctly,
and it's usually not the fault of the sender or the receiver. Viruses can
also come through attachments, so people who don't know you may be
cautious of an attachment you put in a message. Use them sparingly.
H. Many people on email have text-only mail programs. Don't count on
using bold, italics, and color to make a point. Don't send messages in
HTML format, either, for the same reason.
I. People often use punctuation and other symbols on email to add
emphasis and emotion. Capital letters and *'s are used to stress
information, such as in There are NO tickets left or We have *five* people
waiting. Using all capital letters is considered shouting and is very
rude. There are also "emoticons" that you have to look at sideways, such
as
:-) | or :) | = a smile - "I'm happy" |
;-) | or ;) | = a wink - "just joking" |
:-( | or :( | = a frown - "too bad" |
All in all, follow the basic guideline: Do not post to others
what you would not want posted to you!
(Thanks to Jon Dorbolo for the inspiration behind this form!)
http://www.orst.edu/~healeyd/sabanci/email_netiquette.html
Updated
9 September 1999 by Deborah Healey, Deborah.Healey@orst.edu