Email Etiquette Tips for the NMU Community

Provided by the Educational Technology Resources & Policy Committee

  1. Be concise and to the point. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation.

  2. Consider the audience for your message. Do not use abbreviations, such as those used in text messaging, that readers may not understand.

  3. Use a meaningful subject. If you reply to a message but change the subject, change the subject line to make this clear.

  4. Include the most pertinent information about the message in the message body. If you need to attach a document, the message body should still clearly and concisely tell the reader why the message was sent.

  5. Do not attach unnecessary files, and be aware of the file size for files you do attach. Consider posting files to a web site rather than attaching them to a message, especially for messages sent to listserves.

  6. Check to see that you actually attached files, if you mention an attachment in the body of your message.

  7. Read the email before you send it.

  8. Answer swiftly, with due consideration to the response.

  9. Do not expect instant responses to messages you send.

  10. Do not write in UPPERCASE.

  11. Do not overuse Reply to All.

  12. If you intend to respond to a single person, check the “To” line to make sure you are not sending your message to a list or to all previous recipients.

  13. Mailings > consider using the bcc: field to send lists to a number of recipients.

  14. “bcc”  is intended to send messages without listing all recipients. When used, it can be useful to note the intended audience in your message.

  15. This will avoid filling the beginning of the message with a lengthy list of recipients the reader must peruse before finding out what the message is about,

  16. Lists such as “list#ListNameHere@nmu.edu” are intended for official university business.

  17. Use these lists judiciously and do not use these lists to send advertisements, chain letters, or that really funny joke you just received.