Essay Sample on Email Etiquette

In almost everything we do, we are often bound by rules. We are supposed to abide by these rules because of the following reasons. Rules make us be disciplined, most rules have valid reasons, and rules create awareness, and help in distinguishing between the right and the wrongs, while some rules like laws are meant to give justice. Although it is a personal perspective of right and wrong, at the end of the day, we ought to obey rules. If we do not abide by the rules, we face the consequences of not following them. Rules are set to benefit all parties involved in a given scenario. However, there are some reasons why we break the rules. For example, some rules are unnecessary and time wasting. Other rules create complications. Finally, some rules could be expensive and of no benefit to us or even limit us from doing what we perceive right (Pachter & Cowie, 2013).

The email rules also referred to as email etiquette are not the rules whose consequences you bear if you do not follow. They are simply guidelines and design procedures whose aim is to help in avoiding common mistakes including being innocently offensive or creating misunderstanding and unnecessary confusion (Pachter & Cowie, 2013). Email rules help us communicate effectively through email. Below are two common email rules that I break and find many people breaking.Most people attach files of all formats and sizes while sending emails. As much as it might seem to be alright to do so, it could cause the recipients much trouble with their email accounts. The consequences of sending large files include causing subsequent emails sent to a recipient's account to bounce, filling up recipients accounts and even causing them to shut down (Taylor, 2009). We avoid such damages by notifying them of the bulk attachment and give them guidance on the implications.

Sending fancy rich HTML formatted emails has been a current trend. Some recipients use email programs that cannot render the rich HTML format used in formatting email messages. Some may try to open such formatted messages but crash and fail miserably. When this happens, the email becomes inaccessible to the recipient. Some recipients become furious and irritate with such formatted emails. There are other reasons why recipient despises rich email formatting including privacy and security issues. It is, therefore, important to know the recipient format flexibility before sending emails using rich and fancy HTML style. It is advisable to send plain text emails if you are not sure of the recipient ability to use email programs that can comfortably open rich HTML formats (Taylor, 2009).

References

Pachter, B. & Cowie, D. (2013). The essentials of business etiquette : how to greet, eat, and tweet your way to success. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Taylor, S. (2009). E-mail etiquette : a fresh look at dealing effectively with e-mail, developing great style, and writing clear, concise messages. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Business.