1C Effective use of email - continued

Things to avoid:

As with any communication, there are also a few things to avoid. Beyond bad manners, these examples can often lead to more trouble that is acceptable, so be careful to avoid these situations.

  • Broadcasting junk mail or large files: Of course, junk mail is to be avoided (like chain letters). However, be careful when sending people large files - such as the latest program you downloaded from the Internet, or an 80 page proposal. Large files not only take up a lot of room on a disk, but they also take a long time to send over a network. One or two files is not significant, but 10, 20 or even 5,000 copies of a files is significant. Rather than sending a large file to everyone, send them a short note that says: "I have this new program/long report that you might be interested in. Let me know and I can send it to you."
  • Groups replies: When participating in group discussions, be careful of making private comments to the group. A common example is when a person replies to an individual, but sends that reply to the group, often when using the "reply" function of the mail program.
  • Flaming: Flaming is similar to arguing, only using e-mail instead of voices. E-mail communications, contrary to early beliefs, can be a very emotion-filled communication medium. Avoid emotion-filled responses, particularly in group discussions. Remember that what you write may not be what you meant (and the same goes for other people!).
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    Internet Exploration
    Email Communications
    1A Eudora Basics
    Settings
    Nicknames
    Signatures
    Mailboxes
    1B Mail Basics
    Check Mail
    Reply, Forward, Save
    Sending Attachments
    Receive Attachments
    Trash
    1C Using email
    Netiquette
    Examples
    Avoid
    1D Resources