"…" In E-mail

As my regular readers know, I constantly remind folks to use proper sentence structure and grammar when composing their e-mails. I pretty much leave it at that — I am not a grammar writer or and English language major. I too am constantly working on my writing skills and am always amazed at how much there is still to learn about communicating with the written word.

Being I am all about e-mail etiquette — which keeps me pretty darn busy as it is, could you imagine if I were to tackle every possible poor writing example or lack of grammar that drove someone crazy? No me — not my forte.

That said, I’ve had several requests recently to address the use of trailing periods at the end of sentences.

“R” writes:

Hello, Judith. Thank you for providing your E-mail Etiquette site - it is a resource I wish more would take the time to review. I have a silly question for you that I thought I would get your input on. I have a friend who finishes her phrases with “…..”. What does this mean? I find it very annoying as if they have something else they want to say but won’t. Is this proper Netiquette? Thanks. R

Ending a phrase or sentence with “…” could mean different things depending on the content and tone of the e-mail in question. I do that on occasion when apropos.

To do this at the end of every sentence is not appropriate and lends to cryptic communications, however, there are times where it is O.K. Just like anything that has to do with how you use technology, discretion is key.

I think it means the opposite of having something to say but won’t. In my experience those who have this bad habit most likely don’t know what more they can say on the topic.

On occasion, I’ll use trailing periods when I keep getting asked the same thing in different ways by the same person as though that would change the answer. So, I’ll end the sentence with “…” insinuating “what more can I say…” or “I’m at a loss …” type of situations.

I really don’t believe this is a Netiquette issue - more an issue of not communicating with clarity. One should only use trailing periods sparingly. Maybe you can ask your friend who does this in their communications what she meant if you are concerned?

I use trailing periods and never have had anyone be confused by my intent. If the intent is not clear, just ask.

Who to Cc: Back?

What is the the proper E-mail Etiquette when forwarding business e-mails from a second party on a common subject — to a third party? Do you Cc: the original party?

Whether it be a business or personal e-mail common courtesy would dictate you don’t forward without the original sender’s knowledge. That said, we all know people do this every day. Just hope it doesn’t hit you in the back of the head one day. You do so to others; they do the same to you.

All e-mails are naturally copyright protected by the author. So in order to forward an e-mail sent to you to another person, you should get the writer’s permission to do so first.

Cc’ing while doing so doesn’t negate asking for permission. E-mails are sent and written to the party for which they were intended, not to be sent to others without their permission. By Cc’ing without asking you risk the Sender getting upset due to the possibility they didn’t want the content shared. A “common subject” is subjective to each person’s definition of what is common in their view.

I have an article on the Proper Way to Forward E-mails on my site that you might find helpful.

Is BCc: Polite?

Have you found yourself the recipient of e-mail messages where some of the recipients have been listed in the BCc; field, leaving you in the dark about who was or was not included in the message? What are the E-mail Etiquette considerations for hiding recipient’s names from others on the mailing list? Isn’t this akin to having a phone conversation on a speakerphone without telling the person you’re calling?

In this situation that would depend on the reason for using BCc:. Is the Sender trying to protect the privacy of their contact’s by not exposing their addresses to others receiving the e-mail whom they may not know? Or, is the Sender quietly letting others know of a conversation with someone else? The latter could be good or bad depending on motives; while the former is the right thing to do.

If the others that were BCc’d do not know each other, putting their e-mail addresses in the BCc: field to protect the privacy of their e-mail address is the proper thing to do.

Now, if you all know each other and don’t mind having the others see your e-mail addresses, the question then becomes, what was the Sender’s motive in BCc’ing folks on a correspondence?

The only E-mail Etiquette consideration is to not broadcast your contact’s e-mail addresses to folks they don’t know. As with anything it is up to the Sender’s discretion as to how best to use BCc:.