English Composition 1
E-Mail Netiquette
If you send e-mail messages to me (the instructor) or to other students in the class, you should of course follow the convention of netiquette explained on the Netiquette: General Guidelines and the Netiquette at a Glance pages. However, we need to keep in mind a few special considerations concerning our e-mail communication, explained below.
Always
Give an E-Mail Message a Title
When you send e-mail to me, please type ENG 1001
Online in the subject line. Typing ENG 1001
Online in the subject line of every e-mail message
you send me helps me organize and manage my e-mail
messages, which in turn helps me respond to your messages
more promptly.
Another reason to give your e-mail messages the title ENG 1001 Online is that a virus can infect your computer and automatically send e-mail messages to everyone in your address book, giving the appearance that you have sent the messages. Using the same title for each e-mail message could help reduce the possibility of an e-mail virus spreading from one computer to another.
When you send an e-mail message to anyone in the class--to anyone at all, for that matter--you should always include a brief summary of the content of your message in the subject line of the message.
Respond to E-Mail Messages Promptly
Responding promptly to e-mail messages is important. I
try to respond to e-mail messages within 24 hours. I am
often able to respond more promptly, but situations may
arise that cause me to take more than 24 hours to
respond. I will try to notify everyone if such situations
do arise.
You should also try to respond promptly to all e-mail messages you receive from me or from other students in the class. If someone sends you an e-mail messages, he or she is most likely anxiously awaiting your response.
Use,
Don't Abuse, E-Mail
Most of the e-mail messaging in the
class is "private," between only two
individuals: the sender and the receiver. As the course
progresses, you may find that there are certain
individuals in the class whom you enjoy communicating
with in this way, without the entire class able to
eavesdrop on your conversations. I hope you develop some
friendships in our class, so I think it's important that
all students have the ability to contact one another
privately through e-mail messages. There is an analogy
here to the conventional classroom. If you were on
campus, you might like to talk with other students before
or after class, maybe about the class but maybe about
other subjects. E-mail gives you this ability.
However, we need to make sure that no one receives unwanted e-mail messages from other students in the class. If you receive unwanted messages, perhaps messages that you consider harassing, threatening, or offensive, please e-mail me immediately, and I will contact the student who is sending such messages. Anyone who sends harassing, threatening, or offensive messages to me or to other members of the class can expect to be withdrawn from the course.
See the Respecting Privacy page for more information.