1. Whitmore/Stevenson: Strategies for Engineering Communication 1 of 6 E-Mail and Netiquette  Identify yourself and your topic  Keep messages short  Ensure messages are sent to the intended recipients  Do not use e-mail to send confidential information  Always be polite

2. Whitmore/Stevenson: Strategies for Engineering Communication 2 of 6 Identify Yourself  Where possible, identify yourself on the From: line using your full name rather than just your e-mail address.  Include a subject line in your message and ensure that you use a meaningful phrase for the subject.  At the end of your messages, include an alternative way to be contacted (i.e., phone number, FAX, postal address) along with your name.

3. Whitmore/Stevenson: Strategies for Engineering Communication 3 of 6 Format & Style  Avoid typing messages entirely in uppercase.  Keep the format simple, using tabs for indentation and asterisks for bullets.  Set your lines to a standard length (60-70 characters per line.  Include sufficient material from the message to which you are replying so the reader is reminded of the context for your reply.

4. Whitmore/Stevenson: Strategies for Engineering Communication 4 of 6 Length & Attachments  If an e-mail message is of necessity more than a screen long, consider using headings to break up the text.  Wherever possible, information that requires more than a few short paragraphs to express should be word processed and sent as an attachment—perhaps as a memo report or proposal.

5. Whitmore/Stevenson: Strategies for Engineering Communication 5 of 6 E-Mail Security  Ensure that personal messages are sent to the correct individual and not to a mailing list.  Do not send confidential or personal material via e-mail unless you encrypt it because most e-mail systems are insecure.

6. Whitmore/Stevenson: Strategies for Engineering Communication 6 of 6 E-Mail Tone  Do not publicly flame others.  Never send material with any potential to be offensive (i.e., racist or sexist jokes and comments).  Be polite. If you are asking for something, say please. If you receive help, say thank you.  Where appropriate, you can use smiley faces (some- times called emoticons) to indicate the nuances of your message: :-)smiling face indicates amusement :-(unhappy face indicates disappointment or sadness ;-)winking face indicates irony or humor ;->mischievous face that indicates a comment is provocative