Tips for Effective Use of E-mail

How Is Your E-mail Etiquette?

With an exponential growth in e-mail traffic at the University of Windsor and the proliferation of viruses and spam over the previous year, e-mail systems have been taxed to deliver e-mail in an efficient manner. Currently, the University of Windsor routes upwards of 1,000,000 e-mail messages per day! Of this number, approximately 90% are Spam. In order to maintain efficient e-mail delivery and to ensure your e-mail message receives the proper attention it deserves, the appropriate use of e-mail and other forms of electronic communication is essential. Just as city planners are attempting alternative methods to reduce automobile traffic congestion in major cities, organizations are reducing e-mail traffic by providing additional means of efficiently transferring electronic information. E-mail should not be considered the default mode for professional communication; e-mail was never meant to send files back and forth, just short messages.

Is E-mail the Only Option?

What is the purpose of my message?

While e-mail is an effective communication channel; depending on the purpose of your message other simple and more efficient delivery methods are available.

Who requires the information contained in the e-mail?

List recipient(s) in the To: field.
Avoid using the cc: field to reduce Spam.
bcc field. When sending an e-mail message outside the University to multiple recipients who may not know each other, put the recipients’ e-mail addresses in the bcc: (blind copy) field to protect the privacy of each recipient’s e-mail address.

Is E-mail the Most Effective Communication Channel?

Telephone ->Effective for a specific urgent situation, content related issues and confidential issues. Allows for instant decision making.
Personal Meeting ->Provides the most effective method of conveying information and receiving feedback. Allows for high-content, discussion, exploration of ideas and the ability to deal with complex problems.
Instant Messaging ->Allows for professional casual electronic workplace communication.
E-mail ->Effective for lower priority information with concise and clear content.

E-mail Content

Try and keep the message short, so that it can be displayed on one screen (excluding attachments). State the purpose of the e-mail in the first sentence.
Try to keep your lines under 70 characters long, in particular if you are sending off campus e-mail.
Use point form where applicable and lower case as a rule.
Do not use mass e-mail for personal causes (no matter how noble).
Use history discriminately - you can always cut/paste relevant portions of the history into your reply.
Use graphics and attachments sparingly, particularly if you are unsure of the recipient's e-mail software.
Consider putting large attachments on a website instead of sending through e-mail.

Sending E-mail

Make the subject line useful and descriptive to the sender and the recipient. When possible, send a message that is only the subject line using some agreed upon convention (like an <EOM> to end the message).
Use the Receipt function only if you genuinely need to know whether the recipient received your mail.
Use the Carbon Copy Field (cc:) sparingly. The cc: field can open e-mail addresses to spammers. Also, do the potential cc: addressees genuinely require the e-mail message?
When sending an e-mail message outside the University to multiple recipients who may not know each other, put the recipients’ e-mail addresses in the bcc: (blind copy) field to protect the privacy of each recipient’s e-mail address.
Use the "Reply to All" sparingly when replying. Always check the recipient list to make sure you are not mistakenly replying to a list or group.
Hasty replies can be dangerous because you can be too passionate, forceful or hostile.

Receiving E-mail

Never open file attachments from unknown senders. Delete these attachments. Be suspicious of any attachment which the sender doesn't specifically state is being sent to you.
Ensure that your anti-virus software is up to date. Even senders you trust may unknowingly spread a virus through an e-mail attachment.
Ask to be removed from distribution lists that you don't need to be on.
Do NOT unsubscribe from an unknown e-mail distribution list. This action will merely confirm that your e-mail address as valid to spammers.

Managing E-mail

Use the Preview pane to view the first few lines of incoming e-mail to quickly scan a message and ascertain the content and level of importance.
Use the Delete key: unnecessary e-mail takes up valuable disk space.
Use the colour code option provided with Lotus Notes 8 (Attention Indicators in your mailbox preferences) to identify separate messages from different senders. This is an effective option to quickly isolate messages from persons who usually require immediate attention.
Don't use your inbox as a catchall folder. Read items once, answer them immediately if necessary, delete them if possible or move them to project or people specific folders.
Make use of the ">>5 Weeks" folder offered in Lotus Notes that deletes its contents automatically after 5 weeks. It is an ideal temporary storage area where you can drag messages that you are not quite sure if you will need to refer back to in the near future. Typical examples might be an e-mail notifying you of an upcoming event, someone’s acceptance of a meeting you have scheduled or simply a message you are not ready to delete. Messages in the " >>5 Weeks" folder are accessible and can be dragged back into your inbox anytime before the automatic 5 week expiry.
Use the Out of Office feature when you are away. Be sure to check the “Do not automatically reply to mail from Internet addresses” to prevent Out of Office replies to spam.

Attachments and Managing Your Files

Using e-mail to send attachments may not be the most effective method to communicate information. Listed below are some suggestions to assist in the delivery of electronic documentation without using e-mail attachments and thus reducing e-mail traffic flow. As well, Big File Drop Box is an online service provided by IT Services that allows users to transfer large files that cannot or should not be sent by e-mail to other users in a more secure manner. To use this service, go to uwindsor.ca/bfdb (enter this address into a Web browser).
Departmental Recipients ->If your attached message is to be sent to persons within your department, consider placing the document in a common folder on the Novell LAN.
University Recipients -> If the file is to be collaborated on and modified by colleagues within your department place the file on a common folder on the Novell LAN. This will eliminate the need to e-mail attachments back and forth between collaborators. Contact the IT Services HelpDesk at extension 4440 or HelpDesk@uwindsor.ca
If you require that your attachment be modified by colleagues within the University of Windsor but outside of your department, consider using a Lotus Notes Team Room, Lotus Document Library Application or the Novell LAN. Contact the ITS HelpDesk at ext 4440 for assistance in creating a Team Room or Lotus Notes Document Library Application or a shared folder on the Novell LAN.

Multiple Recipients

Use Lotus Document Library Application or the Novell LAN as appropriate.

Read Only Documentation

If your attachment is for viewing only, consider using PDFCreator to convert your document to PDF (Portable Document Format). PDFCreator is available at the UWin SoftwareDepot (uwindsor.ca/softwaredepot). PDF is supported by all popular operating systems and is compatible with nearly all contemporary printers. Documents in PDF format are reproduced precisely as they were originally composed, including fonts, formatting, and graphics. A PDF Add-in is available for Microsoft Office 2007 that integrates with the program allowing simple conversion. To download the add-in, visit office.microsoft.com/downloads

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