E-mail netiquette

Above all, the intention of all e-lists is to share information, to advance ideas and to offer opinion - with the aim of productively and effectively enhancing the environment in which users participate. Almost all of the rules below can apply equally to all e-mail communications.

People are out there	Remember that you are communicating with real people, but using a faceless medium. Be circumspect when replying to others. Attempt to persuade with reason, facts and logic, rather than emotion. Be calm.
Respect others	Don't write anything that you would not want your mother/father/boss or other assumed-heirarchically-superior person to read. Consider if you would say what you write to a room full of careful listeners! Be professional, courteous, and careful, especially with sarcasm or humour. Cite all quotes, references and sources (when known), and respect author copyright. The responsibility over copyright is in your hands.
Privacy is a myth	Never assume any part of your message will remain private, nor read only by your intended recipient. E-mail is not only easily forwarded, but can be intercepted or mis-routed.
Writing is an art	Many will judge you by what you write, and how you write it. Practice, spell-checking, and reading what you wish to send, are all activities that are well-rewarded. However, be wary of the 'spelling flame' (in which a person corrects someone else's e-mail spelling or grammar and then everyone dives in, followed by the whole list becoming high school English teachers for a week or so).
Be concise	Keep messages as brief as possible, succinct, and to the point. Your impact will be greater. Most lists prefer to have short communications (more than two or three scrolling screen-fulls is rather inconsiderate). Above all, do not send formatted text (i.e. styled text) or attachments of any kind (list processors do not like them, as either text or compressed data), unless your list-owner has granted approval.
Use relevant subject titles	Always use a subject title, and make it pertinent and concise. Ensure that the content of the message relates entirely to the subject, for later reference. Keep it under forty characters or so, as some e-mail packages will reject longer subjects. Most e-mail packages do not allow renaming of subject fields of sent mail, so it is important for later reference to be appropriate. Don't leave the subject field blank (this often causes the message to be forgotten entirely!
Edit or summarise	When quoting part or all of a previous e-mail, edit out the non-applicable parts, and use only what is needed to provide context. If this is not possible, summarise the previous message instead. A massive re-quote of large chunks of a previous message followed by a brief 'I agree' is rarely necessary.
Acronymise for clarity	There are many acronyms that are standard jargon in e-mail communications which save space and time to download: FYI = for your information; IMHO = in my humble opinion; TIA = Thanks in advance; BTW = by the way, etc. But don't overdo it. IMHO, AO mks TXT unreadable...
Emphasis required?	Use either asterisks or underscores around a word to _emphasize_ it, but not CAPITALS. This applies equally to subject titles, too. Capitalisation is reserved for acronyms such as ALIAnet, or to emulate shouting at the top of your voice - and somewhat rudely at that!
Be positive	'Does anyone know any piquant librarians?' is more likely to evoke a reasonable response than 'Librarians are pungent and dull'. It is, of course, largely a matter of style, but it generally best to avoid deliberately invoking hate mail.
Don't fan the flames	When two opposing viewpoints clash on the Internet, a 'flame war' can erupt, whereby one camp will antagonise the other to the extent that nothing constructive is said. Flaming is best avoided in lists - almost no-one will benefit from such outbursts.
A signature helps	Always include your signature at the foot of your message when communicating with members of a list. Your signature should not exceed four lines, and should include name, position, affiliation, and e-mail address as a minimum. Precede your signature with a single line composed of two single dashes (--) to allow list processors to safely process commands sent to the list directly.
Stop all chain letters	Never send chain letters, to lists or otherwise. A typical example is that of the "Good Times virus" warning, which appears as an innocuous and well-intended warning to all, but in fact is a perfect example of a chain letter. Many Internet service providers will almost certainly cancel your Internet access, or reprimand you severely, the moment they discover that you have sent such a letter.
What is spamming?	Illegal in USA and many other parts of the world, spamming is the act of sending unsolicited advertisements or off-topic comments to individuals, lists or other groups of e-mail users. If a spam comes your way, check the return address of the spam (which may or may not be legitimate) and address your (polite) response to postmaster at the site listed. ALIAnet prohibits list-users from sending spams, but can do little to prevent incoming spams.
No spoofing, please	'Spoofing' is when a user tries to subscribe to a list using someone else's or a bogus e-mail address. If the 'spoof' is successful, the list-owner will receive error messages about the bogus address from each posting that is made to the list (until the owner deletes the bogus address). Spoofing is not permitted on ALIAnet lists, and an audit trail usually uncovers the spoofer.
And no vacuuming, either	Some spammers attempt to gain the list of subscribers to a given list and use them for their own or other parties benefit. This is not permitted with any of ALIAnet's lists, and is considered illegal in some places.

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