Top 20 Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette

The rules of email etiquette are not "rules" in the sense that I will come after you if you don't follow them. They are guidelines that help avoid mistakes (like offending someone when you don't mean to) and misunderstandings (like being offended when you're not meant to). These core rules of email etiquette help us communicate better via email.

* All email etiquette rules and hints

1. Take Another Look Before You Send a Message - Email Etiquette Tip
Don't send anything you don't want to send.

2. Do Not Default to "Reply All" - Email Etiquette Tip
"Reply" is good. "Reply to All" is better. Right?

3. Keep Emails Short - Email Etiquette Tip
Do not intimidate recipients with too much text.

4. Properly Format Your Email Replies, and Be Lazy - Email Etiquette Tip
Do you think quoting original text in your email replies perfectly is a lot of work? Don't let the '>' intimidate you! Here's a very comfortable, relaxed, quick and still clean and compatible way to reply properly.

5. Clean Up Emails Before Forwarding Them - Email Etiquette Tip
Forwarding emails is a great way of sharing ideas, but make sure the original idea is not hidden in obfuscation.

6. When in Doubt, Send Plain Text Email, Not HTML - Email Etiquette Tip
Not everybody can receive your fancily formatted emails. Some may even react furious.
To be safe rather than sorry, send plain text emails only when in doubt.

7. Don't Forward Hoaxes - Email Etiquette Tip
Email hoaxes often contain stories that are intriguing, and sure to irritate. Here's how to spot and stop urban legends.
8. Use Current Antivirus Software, Keep it Up to Date, Scan for Free
Make sure you're not spreading worms and viruses via email or act as a vehicle for spreading spam. All this can be caused by malicious emails. Fortunately, there's protection.

9. Write Perfect Subject Lines - Email Etiquette Tip
Do you make these mistakes in your email subjects? (The key to getting your messages read is not to be clever.)

10. Do Let People Know Their Mail Has Been Received - Email Etiquette Tip
Did the spam filter eat my message? Spare others this nagging question and let them know you got their email.

11. Ask Before You Send Huge Attachments - Email Etiquette Tip
Don't clog email systems without permission.

12. Talk About One Subject per Email Message Only - Email Etiquette Tip
Help make the world less confusing. Try to talk about one subject per message only. For another subject, start a new email.

13. Punctuation Matters; in Emails Too - Email Etiquette Tip
Comma, colon, hyphen and semicolon — all exist for a reason: they make it easier to understand the intended meaning of a sentence. Don't make life more difficult and possibly less interesting for the recipients of your emails. Pay some — though not too pedantically much — attention to punctuation.

14. Use Acronyms Sparingly - Email Etiquette Tip
DYK? Not everybody knows every acronym, and they don't save that much time anyway.

15. Resize Pictures to Handy Proportions Before Inserting Them in Emails
When your photos look good in your email, you look good, too! Here's how to make sure your images are not larger than screens and mailboxes by resizing them in style — online and for free.

16. Writing in All Caps is Like Shouting - Email Etiquette Tip
Don't shout in your emails (and all caps is so difficult to read).

17. Be Careful with Irony in Emails - Email Etiquette Tip
No, really! I mean it. Honestly!

18. Set Your System Clock Right - Email Etiquette Tip
Make sure you don't send messages from 1981.

19. Avoid "Me Too" Messages - Email Etiquette Tip
"Me too" is not enough content, but too much annoyance.

20. In Doubt, End Emails with "Thanks" - Email Etiquette Tip
If you don't know how to say good-bye at the end of an email, there's one thing that will almost always be appropriate. Thanks.

Source Article: http://email.about.com/od/emailnetiquette/tp/core_netiquette.01.htm