Internet Tip of the Week

           by Bob Osgoodby

Mistakes To Avoid

Before the advent of email most of us, other than sending out
cards for special occasions, would write very few letters. If we
did write a letter, it was carefully prepared, and considerable
thought went into it.  Today, with computer access available to
most people, we have tremendously increased our amount of written
communication, and sometimes fall into a trap.  There are seven
words that will serve as our guide and help us to communicate
more effectively.

Perhaps the first word to consider is "Brevity" - we receive and
respond to more mail each day, than we would in a year, before
the advent of the Internet. As we became experienced with email,

we found certain shortcuts that we would never use in "pen and
ink" communications.

Many people simply copy the entire note to which they are
responding, and make their comments. Others might lift a
pertinent paragraph and respond.  This is acceptable practice.
Let's face it - unless you are socializing with a friend, if
someone asks a question, they want an answer, and don't really
care if you had rain last night. But, you can be too brief in
your replies. I get email all the time, and don't have a clue as
to what they're referring to.

Criticism, whether perceived or real is probably next on the
list. Some people write with a negative style, and while they
are truly not being critical, their wording comes across that
way. If you are making a suggestion to someone, or reporting a
problem, if you expect positive results, be sure to couch your
note in positive terms.

Patience - I had a person write me 4 times in one day about a
perceived problem. Now, most of us are not sitting at the
computer 24 hours a day just waiting to receive email. A person
must be given ample time to respond. This may take a day or so,
or even longer. When I didn't "immediately" respond, the notes
got nastier and nastier. If you act this way, you may be simply
written off as a "crank" or a "pain in the neck", and never get

an answer. Patience pays - and if you do send a reminder, be
civil.

Audience - since the web is truly world wide, remember that you
may be speaking with a person limited in your primary language.
While you don't want to appear condescending, your email should
be written in short, concise sentences that are easy to

understand. Words that have several meanings such as wound,
produce or refuse should be avoided.

Morality is always a big issue. What may be acceptable to one
person may not be to another. Never use language that is even
border line. Many people think that if someone uses words that
are not acceptable in "polite" society, you might not know how to
express yourself any other way, and be considered ignorant.

Never use a "double entendre". We had a police chief of a
neighboring town use the term "guido" in an internal memo to his
staff. To many, the term "bennie" or "guido" simply means a
summer resident. But this term was highly offensive to the
Italian American community, and he quickly learned to choose his
words more carefully.

Sarcasm - this is always a double-edged sword. While something
may be said with the best of intentions, another may interpret it
the wrong way. Your best bet is to avoid it. While on the

subject, the use of humor has to be done very carefully. What
may be extremely funny to you, could be extremely offensive to
someone else.

Spam - most people get a number of emails every day, and much of
it is unsolicited commercial email, which is immediately deleted.
Always title your note so it doesn't blend in with all the other
junk they receive. The spamsters are becoming more creative in
this regard however, so you should probably try to give this a
little extra attention.

There are of course many other things, which should be avoided,
such as spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, and the use of ALL
CAPS. Try to couch your communications so you are not guilty of
making these basic mistakes. This is especially true if your
email is going to multiple people. The anonymity of the web
doesn't always allow us the luxury we enjoyed when all we wrote
was with "pen and ink" and knew exactly who would be reading it.

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