Re: Re: Fwd: Re:

I'm usually one who has to be pushed into the present day when it comes to technology like for instance cell phones, email, internet, dvd players, you get the idea. I found email particularly irritating at first because it seemed to laugh in the face of proper business communication rules such as a header, date line, salutation, body of message constructed with an opening greeting followed by what you were going to talk about then talked about it then summarized it and closed with a "sincerely". This format conveyed everything that was needed without any feeling or emotion whatsoever which is exactly what's needed in business. Emails on the other hand....

There is supposed to be generally accepted rules of email etiquette which include former business communication rules from yester-year like having a salutation, body, and closing but also include tips designed to help the foreigner through the new culture of internet communication, similar to travel tips.

One tip is that capitalization of your entire message means you're yelling; not unlike pulling your ear in Italy indicates the same senitment as the middle finger does in America. There is a Document Preparer that has always capitalized every email she's ever written and when I first open them up, I actully lean back in my chair as if her voice is blaring out of my monitor.

Another tip is to avoid trying to be humorous because emotion does not always read in an email and could be misinterpreted. It could also be used against you in a court of law. Remember that the next time you send "Is embezzlement still against the law?"

Yet another tip is to avoid sending the supflerous "thank you" email where that's the only thing you're saying. The recipient has to take time to open your email only to see "Thank you!" written and has gained no new knowledge but has instead wasted 30 seconds of his life that he'll never get back. I confess that I am sometimes guilty of this. But then again, I work with sensitive people who need a pat on the back before they can continue in life.

Too many people treat an email as if they were standing face to face with the person and discard any rule of etiquette that ever existed. A fine example is an email I received yesterday after asking a procedure question. The response was "you preparer should enter it!" That's it. No salutation or closing signature or anything else. To me, this said that the respondant was so angry with my question that he couldn't even take time to capitalize the beginning of his sentence but sure could take enough time at the end of the sentence to find the ! key. I responded with an apology and clarified the reason for my question. His response was "no problem! all is good!" I will now forever imagine this person as being like a golden retriever, always jumping up and down every time he speaks.

Other items that drive me crazy about email is the massive confusion of the reply feature. There are waaaaay too many options. Do you reply to one or all? Do you realize when you are replying to all instead of one? Is the signature block at the bottom or top? Are you one of those that writes your reply in a different colored font in the middle of the original message (Ms. Fancypants!), do you try to be sneaky and remove sections of the message that could be damaging to your reputation before replying?

That brings me to another topic, that damn blind cc. It can often be used for good but too many times it is used for evil. Like copying a supervisor or other authority figure in a part of an email that may or may not have sections deleted. Why not just strap a wire to yourself, go into someones office and ask a question you've already been given the answer to and which by doing so you know will illicit a negative response?

I think one of the main pros of email was that it saves on paper. This is a fallacy. I once worked for a Dean who never read her own emails on a computer screen, she instited that all of them be printed out upon which she would write her response and have someone type that response into the email and hit 'send'. It looks like Sarah Palin may have done this also.

The one thing email does allow is the ability to hide from people. If you don't want to hear the sound of their voice, just respond to their voice mail with an email. There are many times when this feature makes email worth any other trouble it may cause.

I have to go now and get caught up on the 11 emails I've received since I started writing this.