Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
addresses when replying to all, and more often than not, replying to everyone on
a long list amounts to unwanted clutter for most of them.
Similarly, think before adding someone as a Cc recipient. People regularly Cc me
on complaints, bug reports, and other matters that vaguely involve a topic or art-
icle I've written, but really: I don't need to be involved, and I assure you that put-
ting my name on a message you send to Apple (or whomever) won't lend it any
more weight. Ask yourself whether the potential Cc recipient truly needs to be
involved in a discussion.
•
Don't forward nonsense:
Jokes, funny animal pictures, political screeds, and
other such stuff that gets endlessly forwarded is nearly as bad as spam. You can't
stop someone from sending this material to you (although you
can
ask politely),
but you can certainly make sure you're the last link in the chain. Seriously, no
matter how funny or apt you find one of these generic messages, your friends
and family don't need to read it.
Tip:
A subspecies of “nonsense” is the urban myth, a breathless story about some
supposed tragedy, scandal, or other atrocity that sounds plausible, but is in fact false.
Sometimes it's hard to know whether a story is fact or fiction, and if in doubt, a good
place to check is the Web site
Snopes.com
.
•
Use good subjects:
When you're scanning an Inbox full of messages to decide
what requires your most urgent attention, it helps to have some clue what a mes-
sage is about before you open it. And later, if you're searching for a message,
you'll find it more quickly if the subject is descriptive. So, “Hi Joe” (an actual
subject on a recent message to me) is not helpful, whereas “Question about ship-
ping company” (the actual message topic) would have been. You don't have to
agonize over the subject, just give the recipient some idea about the topic.
•
Reply promptly:
If I had a nickel for every time someone expressed
amazement at how quickly I'd replied to them (even if the person was a complete
stranger), I could retire today. But this practice doesn't seem unusually virtuous
to me; it's merely a natural byproduct of wanting to keep my Inbox empty.
Not everyone checks their email constantly, and sometimes a proper, thoughtful
reply requires hours or days go compose. But I can't overstate the amount of
good karma you generate with timely replies. If a response requires more time
than you can invest at the moment, say so right away—something like “I need a
bit of time to think about this, but I'll get back to you in the next day or two” goes
a long way.
