What Is the Definition of Email Etiquette?
Email etiquette refers to the principles of behavior that one should use when writing or answering email messages. Because email is less personal than a phone or in-person conversation but quicker to send than a letter, it is possible for serious breaches of manners to take place. The rules below comprise an overview of the most common principles of email behavior.
One important principle is to write messages in sentence case. In other words, it is only necessary to capitalize the first word in each sentence, unless there are proper nouns. Capitalizing all of the letters makes a message look as though the writer is shouting every word, but if the writer never capitalizes any letters, the messages look lazy. Writers who want to emphasize a word ought to use bold or italics to help it stand out.
Messages that are brief and to the point are welcomed by everyone with an inbox. If there is more to say than a few paragraphs, the better idea is to make a phone call. That keeps any misunderstandings from taking place as a result of the exchange.
The difference between “CC” and “BCC” is an important one. If there is a large list, using “BCC” for each recipient keeps the sender list from being overwhelming. However, it is all right to “CC” people to whom the message is germane, and using “CC” appropriately makes the sender look more competent.