Netiquette in emails

netiquette = a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from Usenet and mailing lists to blogs and forums

While spending time on the Internet you eventually interact with many kinds of people. They belong to different cultures, races, age groups or genders. Some have a different way of life, of communicating with each other. Nevertheless, by being online they share this common interactive environment and should adhere to some simple, basic rules.

Contacting someone through email for the first time requires, in my opinion, the utmost respect. Since you do not know that person, he/she should be given full credit. I have seen (and been contacted by) grown-up people who write like they were 6 year old children talking. I did use the word talking because apparently that’s what they were doing. No capital letters at the beginning of any sentence, no punctuation whatsoever and using words trimmed for convenience (e.g. cuz instead of because, peeps instead of people, any1 instead of anyone). I am forced to read the whole email a couple of times just to understand what they’re trying to say.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking for a standard compliant ISO-whatever letter sent by email. All I’m asking for is a decent, well organized manner of communicating.

The occasional smiley face can be a friendly touch to a particular idea. If used moderately, it is quite acceptable. But just to make things clear, smiley means : ) and not >:D< or other weird codes. And moderated use means 1 or 2 uses, not once at the end of every sentence.

Another big problem is that many people expect you to be aware of their intentions while reading their email. In other words, before we reach a common sense we have to send back and forth a few emails, each one requesting another input or providing new information. Here’s how I deal with a typical email requesting more information about an advertisement space for sale on one of my websites:

• I use a formal greeting
• I immediately respond to their question(s)
• I include a list of regular details that he/she may need before purchasing the ad spot
• in the end I tell them what to do next if they are still interested (e.g. send the banner, make the payment)

This way, the recipient has all the details needed in one email. There is no need for any following emails for clarification. In the end this saves us both some valuable time.