[Macworld]

Post your comments for E-mail etiquette here

[tony_d]

My wife, who teaches at a university, has a 24 hour rule. Basically don't email her after getting a bad grade. Instead allow 24 hours to pass so you'll calm down and write a more persuasive message and not a rant. It keeps things calm and cool. Something to think about when you're pissed at some one.

[RobK]

Dear Shamefaced in Shiloh,
Stop making derogatory remarks about others in your office behind their backs.
LOL

[alansky]

One thing is for sure: Mac Manners is getting alot of questions from certified morons!

[leicaman]

Yeah, well, anyone who is rude to me isn't going to get any of the millions I'm about to collect from my new email friend in Nigeria.

[srollans]

!! HIGHEST ULTRA-PLUS PRIORITY
There's no such word as "alot."

[alansky]

There's no such word as "alot." --srollans
So? Many words have alternate spellings, and my guess is that "alot" is already becoming an acceptable alternate for "a lot", which doesn't make much sense ("correct" or not).

[GrahamPadruig]

I've used email for the last 28-odd years and over time I've learnt to treat each email I send as a letter. no matter how long or short. I always start with Dear xxxx, and end with a Best wishes, or Thanks, etc. I am also careful not to put anything in an email that I wouldn't want people to read, including people that the email is not addressed to. I once had a boss who had a habit of writing up her post meeting notes using her email client and sending them to herself. On one occasion after a very stormy board meeting she accidentally sent her notes to the board of directors, including her very personal comments about the attributes of the managing director! She asked me if she could un-send the message but I had to tell her that in our internal email system delivery was virtually instant - she left the company shortly after...

[srollans]

My !! HIGHEST ULTRA PRIORITY header was to indicate that my post was trivial and pointless, as "high-priority" emails almost always turn out to be. Sorry if I got under your skin, alansky.
But ... now that you've taken offence ... let's check the old dictionary, shall we?
lot: pronoun (preceded by "a"): a great number or quantity. Examples: a lot to do, a lot of people.
alot: err... my dictionary skips straight from "Alost, a town in central Belgium" to "aloud." Guess I don't own a big enough dictionary.
"Alot" will become an acceptable spelling of "a lot" on the same day "definately" becomes an acceptable spelling of "definitely."
All right, point made: the battle's already lost.
In any case, though, if you're going to refer to people as "certified morons," you should at least run a spell check before posting.
After all, it's only good etiquette.

[reidnixon]

I used to be an "alot"-ter, even though I was taught this was incorrect long ago, until I read the tip that broke the habit:
Would you write "alittle?"

Now that pops into my head every time I write "alot."
Enjoy.

[Wondercow]

alansky said:

There's no such word as "alot." --srollans

So? Many words have alternate spellings, and my guess is that "alot" is already becoming an acceptable alternate for "a lot", which doesn't make much sense ("correct" or not).

While new words are created through the combination of the indefinite article and a commonly-used noun, e.g. another, the "word" alot is still considered to be an error. (Similarly, for those who care, though already is a valid word formed by combining all & ready it is still incorrect to combine all & right into alright. All right is the proper and accepted form.... for now.)

How does a lot not make sense? It comes from the literal meaning of "a lot", "lot" in this case meaning a parcel of land. So, if you have "a lot" of grain, you have a lot of grain.

[n4hhe]

Forgot top-posting? Guess I'll never understand why people think words no longer belong on chronological order just because its newfangled email.
Here, the article text appears first. Then the first comment appears next, and the last comment appears last. Chronological order, the same as we speak, the same as we have always written before there was email. But now for some reason people think email changes everything and that the newest words belong first. That there is no reason to trim the old words that do not directly relate to the reply. Its wrong.
When forming a reply one should trim the quoted section down to the text of the point that prompted one to reply. Those words were said first, your words should follow.
If there was another point one is replying to, then the other text should be trimmed down to that point, and your reply should follow.
Repeat until all the original message's text is either removed or replied.
The result resembles a conversation. Or a play script. Alternating speakers. Just the way we talk on the phone or in person. Just because its email doesn't change anything, the same forms apply.

[PadreCohen]

You'd be amazed at by number of new email users who don't know the ropes. It's impolite and incorrect to call them certified morons. Ignorant? Maybe.

[PadreCohen]

* When sending e-mail, be extremely careful with the honor and feelings of others.
* Judge the value of your words before you send an e-mail.
* Never use sarcasm as humor. It can be misinterpreted as an insult. An e-mail recipient can't read your body language or see your face.
* An IT person at your office can—and often do—read e-mail. Have a personal issue or criticism of your management? Use the phone.
* Don't use e-mail to avoid face-to-face confrontation.