Email Details, Guidelines, and Rules Matter

When I started promoting email etiquette to my clients in 1995, I saw that most online users did not realize the power of the written word combined with technology. What many underestimate is that email (the written word) is more powerful than many realize.

Several technological changes have occurred over almost three decades of this site’s existence. Social media, texting, and instant messaging have been added. All once again using the written word.

The words you use matter. How you write those words matters.

Online is Not the Wild West

Back then and to this day, some believe that anything goes online. Many say online is like the Wild West, intimating the lawlessness in the West back in the day. Some believe that one can do or say anything they want, all while hiding safely behind these screens.

While I assumed that over time, folks would realize that they should approach their use of technology with “knowledge, understanding, and courtesy,” I was partially wrong. Of course, some do, but boy, there are still many who don’t.

When it comes to Business Email Etiquette, you have no choice. That is, if you are smart. Don’t get into the details; follow the guidelines and rules of technology use, and your business’s chances of failing increase exponentially.

However, when it comes to personal email, websites, and groups, there is still a lot of Wild West. Mainly around a lack of courtesy and attention to detail.

Top 5 Things Many Onliners Disregard

Here’s what I see daily when it comes to online communications:

1. Not spelling their name in proper case.
2. Typing in complete sentences with appropriate punctuation.
3. Inability to take the time to read and then follow instructions.
4. If they do read instructions, they do what they want anyway.
5. Believing that the implicit rules of courtesy do not apply online.

One prime example was my Email Etiquette Quiz. I thought it would be fun for visitors to test their knowledge. Little did I know that so many who don’t bother to read my site would take this simple quiz, thinking they would get a good score. Most failed.

Now, remember, I’m just talking email etiquette basics here. There were no trick questions or issues I didn’t discuss on this site ad nauseam.

Initially, I didn’t care how often folks took the quiz. But I raised the stakes by adding the bonus of an actual certificate to print, frame, and display, and with that, you only get two tries to pass.

If you received a 100%, you could then request a customized printable certificate to display with pride. But you only get two tries. Not 5, not 10, not 18. Two.

I determined that, okay, you may miss one of my questions the first time around. But if you don’t get a perfect score, read up and refresh your knowledge, then bang it out the second time. How wrong I was…

My database was filled with multiple, almost obsessive attempts by individuals to get 100%. So tell me, where on any quiz or test can you get as many tries as you want until you get it right and reap any benefits?

Pay Attention to Guidelines and Rules

The process parameters were clear. First, you need to get 100% in no more than 2 tries. Next, you take the Email Etiquette pledge — and bingo! Finally, request a certificate, and I’ll make one just for you to download.

Follow these three little rules, and you are in. Simple, right? Not so much.

So now I just offer The Email Etiquette Pledge, which you can take, and when you do, you get sent a link to a Certificate you can download and display with pride. No test, no hoops to jump through. If you agree, take the pledge and get your certificate.

Efforts in the Right Places?

My database was filled with those who kept retaking, thinking they’d get that 100% by guessing differently. However, the time it would have taken to read my site and get 100% in the first two tries would have been nothing compared to, in one case, 22 attempts.

Next came the cheating. Onliners, mostly schoolkids whose teachers used my site in their curriculum, were getting perfect results on the first try within seconds of each other. What they did was make multiple attempts using Gmail throwaway accounts, appearing as someone else each time, to exceed the 2-try limit. Then they would share the results so others could cheat.

All this effort for an Email Etiquette Quiz that really wasn’t that difficult.

They went on to request their certificate in a manner that showed no regard for email etiquette whatsoever. Names were not capitalized, and sentence fragments were used without proper case or punctuation.

My email etiquette quiz was just a window into this behavior that we see all too often in our everyday lives. Unfortunately, folks are only willing to do what they want, regardless of established guidelines—just because. So, I shut down the quiz.

The Moral of the Story: Technology & Life Success

Technology isn’t going anywhere; who knows what new stuff will come around the next corner? Therefore, it behooves everyone using this great tool to do so correctly, “with knowledge, understanding, and courtesy.” Not only is that good for you, but it’s also good for those with whom you communicate.

Paying attention to details and following guidelines and rules will determine how you are perceived and your potential for success. Personally and professionally. Don’t doubt that for a moment.