I’d like to introduce you to a few websites that can help prevent much discomfort and embarrassment that can be caused by untimely and inappropriate e-mail forwards.
- E-Mail Etiquette Rules — I particularly like #14-Do not overuse the Reply All button, and #19-Do not forward chain letters (it’s so important they listed it twice)
- FactCheck.org — Especially in the election years, misinformation about candidates and laws and activities of Congress run rampant in people’s e-mail boxes. Make sure you’re telling the truth before you send that e-mail off.
- Snopes.com — Hey! Did you know that if you forward this e-mail to all your friends, Bill Gates will give you $50 for each person you send it to?!?! No, he won’t. Snopes.com debunks urban myths as well as silly chain e-mail forwards, and delves into the political arena like factcheck.org also.
Think of e-mails as letters. If you got a piece of propaganda in the mail, would you then photocopy it, put it in envelopes and address them, stamp them, and mail them to every single person in your address book? Probably not. So it should be with e-mails. E-mails are “electronic mail,” so treat it as such. Most e-mails should have a greeting of some kind, (“Dear Mom,” or even just “Mom,”) then your message, and a closing (“Love, Ryan”). The less you know the person, the more like a formal business letter you need to write it. If it’s so informal that you just start right in with your message with no greeting whatsoever, think about using an Instant Message program, or maybe even text messaging.
Please take the time to learn e-mail etiquette and put it into practice. You (and all your recipients) will be much better off for it.
