A little e-mail etiquette can take the mystery out of your messages
Mr. Hilton considered for a moment, and then looked straight into the camera: "Yes, I have just one thing to say. Remember, the shower curtain goes INSIDE the tub."
I've been hoping for just such an opportunity, but in the meantime, here's what I would say if I could address the whole internet:
First of all, use a sig file. That stands for "signature file," and it's the clever thing at least some of my correspondents put after their messages.
Sig files work automatically in most e-mail software; you write them yourself to say who you are and list your affiliation, address and contact information, and your software includes them automatically with each message you send out. Many people include a clever saying or exhortation, or a subtle advertisement. Frequently I get mail from John or DRJ or with no signature at all, and these people's e-mail addresses - DJA1@msn.com or RCRInc@aol.com or snarky@online.ru - aren't much help.
Yet these people aren't trying to hide their identities; they're just being careless. My own sig file, for what it's worth, includes my company and address, the dates and locations of my company's next two conferences, and the motto "Always make new mistakes!" My ALTERNATE sig file (only some packages support that) lists all the cities I'll be in over the next few months. It's very handy when I'm trying to schedule a meeting with someone - or when I'm trying to figure out for myself where I'm going to be.
Unfortunately, not even a sig file covers everything. There are a lot of useful tricks to using e-mail that make it a better tool for both sender and receiver. Some are formal etiquette; some are just tricks of the trade.
So the next one is: Use a helpful subject line. Some messages I get have no subject, which is bad enough. But the ones that say "Message for Esther" are even worse. Clearly, someone took a moment to write that. But it's absolutely useless. I know it's a message for me; that's why it's in my inbox. And the sender can see from his outbox whom the message was sent to. Yes, some people have e-mail addresses like "rick519@aol.com," so it may be difficult to remember who they are. (Hi, Rick!)
And then there's the message called "Meet May 20" - which is great, except that it's a reply to a reply. It's now about a meeting on May 19. I've almost missed many an appointment that way. Indeed, it's not a sin to rename a conversation thread; experienced (and socially adept) e-mail users often send messages with titles such as this: "Cozy evening at nightclub?" Was: "Lunch to go over documents."
Recently I found a several-months-old message in my inbox entitled "Greetings" from a stranger. It turned out to be an interesting business opportunity; I apologized and tried to pick up the thread a couple of months late. After several messages back and forth, it's still pending. The most recent message in the thread ("From" with e-mail address deleted to protect the guilty, but it's one of those unintelligible ones anyway) was this, in its entirety:
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: greetings
yes, june 16 on the peninsula is possible. i leaving in two hours for moscow and will be there till evening of june 4. then i am back to Berkeley for a few days and off to do some continuing work for CODETEL in dominican republic but back in california on june 13.our meeting at your convenient location, thanks,
paul
Forgive me, but I can't remember what I told him about locations, or even (to be honest) why it was I wanted to talk with him. (And no, I don't know what CODETEL is, either.) If he would just copy the previous conversations so I had a little context.
True, that would require some judgment, because another annoying habit some people have is to send around strings of messages that date back 12 or 18 messages, complete with sig files, the addresses of everyone who has received a copy each time, and so forth.
So yes, provide context but not baggage. The most elegant way to do this is with the delete key, replacing the missing text with the word "SNIP."
Think about what your recipients need to know to answer properly. Imagine that your e-mail is nestled among 70 other e-mails. Will they be able to pick it out?
The point of all this is to think more about the purpose of any communication. The communication doesn't end when you send the e-mail, but when someone else reads and understands it. It's your job to make the message easy to respond to - that is, if you want a response. If not, by all means, be cryptic. It's the e-mail equivalent of calling at midnight to leave a voice message with no phone number. (The people sending marketing messages who don't want a response but rather an order by phone are another matter entirely.)
Well, what can I say now but ... SNIP!
I've been hoping for just such an opportunity, but in the meantime, here's what I would say if I could address the whole internet:
First of all, use a sig file. That stands for "signature file," and it's the clever thing at least some of my correspondents put after their messages.
Sig files work automatically in most e-mail software; you write them yourself to say who you are and list your affiliation, address and contact information, and your software includes them automatically with each message you send out. Many people include a clever saying or exhortation, or a subtle advertisement. Frequently I get mail from John or DRJ or with no signature at all, and these people's e-mail addresses - DJA1@msn.com or RCRInc@aol.com or snarky@online.ru - aren't much help.
Yet these people aren't trying to hide their identities; they're just being careless. My own sig file, for what it's worth, includes my company and address, the dates and locations of my company's next two conferences, and the motto "Always make new mistakes!" My ALTERNATE sig file (only some packages support that) lists all the cities I'll be in over the next few months. It's very handy when I'm trying to schedule a meeting with someone - or when I'm trying to figure out for myself where I'm going to be.
Unfortunately, not even a sig file covers everything. There are a lot of useful tricks to using e-mail that make it a better tool for both sender and receiver. Some are formal etiquette; some are just tricks of the trade.
So the next one is: Use a helpful subject line. Some messages I get have no subject, which is bad enough. But the ones that say "Message for Esther" are even worse. Clearly, someone took a moment to write that. But it's absolutely useless. I know it's a message for me; that's why it's in my inbox. And the sender can see from his outbox whom the message was sent to. Yes, some people have e-mail addresses like "rick519@aol.com," so it may be difficult to remember who they are. (Hi, Rick!)
And then there's the message called "Meet May 20" - which is great, except that it's a reply to a reply. It's now about a meeting on May 19. I've almost missed many an appointment that way. Indeed, it's not a sin to rename a conversation thread; experienced (and socially adept) e-mail users often send messages with titles such as this: "Cozy evening at nightclub?" Was: "Lunch to go over documents."
Recently I found a several-months-old message in my inbox entitled "Greetings" from a stranger. It turned out to be an interesting business opportunity; I apologized and tried to pick up the thread a couple of months late. After several messages back and forth, it's still pending. The most recent message in the thread ("From" with e-mail address deleted to protect the guilty, but it's one of those unintelligible ones anyway) was this, in its entirety:
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: greetings
yes, june 16 on the peninsula is possible. i leaving in two hours for moscow and will be there till evening of june 4. then i am back to Berkeley for a few days and off to do some continuing work for CODETEL in dominican republic but back in california on june 13.our meeting at your convenient location, thanks,
paul
Forgive me, but I can't remember what I told him about locations, or even (to be honest) why it was I wanted to talk with him. (And no, I don't know what CODETEL is, either.) If he would just copy the previous conversations so I had a little context.
True, that would require some judgment, because another annoying habit some people have is to send around strings of messages that date back 12 or 18 messages, complete with sig files, the addresses of everyone who has received a copy each time, and so forth.
So yes, provide context but not baggage. The most elegant way to do this is with the delete key, replacing the missing text with the word "SNIP."
Think about what your recipients need to know to answer properly. Imagine that your e-mail is nestled among 70 other e-mails. Will they be able to pick it out?
The point of all this is to think more about the purpose of any communication. The communication doesn't end when you send the e-mail, but when someone else reads and understands it. It's your job to make the message easy to respond to - that is, if you want a response. If not, by all means, be cryptic. It's the e-mail equivalent of calling at midnight to leave a voice message with no phone number. (The people sending marketing messages who don't want a response but rather an order by phone are another matter entirely.)
Well, what can I say now but ... SNIP!
