Netiquette 101

In this era of electronic communication, it constantly amazes me how many people are still relatively ignorant of basic netiquette, as in, how to write an e-mail that cannot be misconstrued or taken the wrong way. I learned my lessons years ago about what tone to adopt and what words to use so as not to accidentally come off sounding angry, snarky, accusatory or condescending. The problem with e-mail is that the recipient on the other end cannot hear your tone of voice, so short of peppering your e-mails with tons of "emoticons" (like the picture here shown), the recipient cannot know how you were feeling when you composed the e-mail you sent them. I wish that more people would understand how easy it is to misuse language in such a way that it causes perhaps unintended consequences. I find it handy to have a thesaurus ready when I am attempting to find just the right word to convey how I am feeling in such a way that it doesn't come off sounding utterly the way I did not intend it to. It also helps, particularly in business netiquette, to couch things in a positive tone, such as, "I would greatly appreciate it if...." when making a request or some sort to a co-worker or a subordinate. It's so easy to let one's emotions run rampant and to take things out on people via e-mail when you are upset over something, but there is a good old rule that has served me well for many long years now, and that is, "Never send an e-mail in anger." If you write an angry e-mail, the best thing to do is not to hit the "send" button when you are done, but rather to put it in your draft folder and come back to it 24 hours later and revisit it. The chances are very good that you will either discard said e-mail or revise it in such a way as to make it sound better before it gets sent to the recipient. Never accuse, condescend, sound sarcastic or snarky - that is the fastest way to pour fuel on a flame and to cause serious damage. Language can be such a tricky thing, particularly went sent via electronic communication, so it's terribly important to guard your wording carefully and to take time to read your e-mail before sending and putting yourself in the shoes of the recipient. How would you feel upon receiving this e-mail? If there is any hint of negativity in the tone, do not, for heaven's sake, hit that "send" button! I just wish that more people would learn this lesson, and you'd think that since e-mail has been around for quite a while now, that more people would have learned it, but it's been my experience that not everyone has, apparently. I think that one of the first things that people need to learn is basic Netiquette 101. It should be a mandatory course for everybody entering the workforce where electronic communication is used. I hope that High Schools and colleges are offering Netiquette courses, but then, maybe this is something taken for granted and maybe it's kind of become expected that you learn it by osmosis by using e-mail on a day to day basis. I just think that schools and workplaces should make it mandatory to take basic Netiquette classes. Not that everyone will take the lessons to heart - many probably could care less, but at least the information would be out there for those who truly do not know how to do it and could benefit from learning. Well, it's a thought, anyway.