1. Store your contacts' email addresses in your Address Book. After you enter them, you won't have to try and remember those awful email addresses. Most email software will permit you to save an email address from an incoming message by right-clicking on the From line and clicking Save to Address Book.

2. Make sure that you have configured your email profile to send your name (or, at the very least, something that identifies you or your company to the recipients).  Far too often I receive emails that identify the sender as something like aesmo235@aol.com.  These go directly to my Deleted folder. They look like spam.  I don't have time to read them, and they are potentially dangerous.  If you want to know how your mail is currently configured, send an email message to yourself.  When you receive it, whatever you see in the From line is what others see when they get your mail.

3. Always, always, always put a meaningful description of email contents in the Subject line.  "Hello", "What's happening", and "Long time no see" do not qualify as meaningful.  Many of us will store your email for handling at some time in the future.  We will find it again based upon keywords in your Subject line. If you have 2 different subjects to write about, send 2 separate emails.

4. When sending time-sensitive material, include the day, date, & time in the Subject line.  Wed, Dec 13, 2-4pm - CPR Seminar is an example.  Once your readers have read the contents of your message, they will probably never need to open the email again.  The Subject line will be enough to remind them.  Update the Subject line if the "thread" (topic) of your email conversation changes.

5. Most email software has a built in spell-checker - use it.  Let your software help save you from being needlessly embarrassed.

6. Please do not use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.  Recipients feel that you've yelled at them.  Many recipients consider the use of all lowercase letters acceptable.

7. Never, ever forward virus warnings, chain letters, urban legends, or spam to others.  If you absolutely feel you MUST help save your friends from the latest email virus that will turn their lawn sprinklers on while they're on vacation, please go to a search engine and search on one or more of the keywords in the virus warning.  In other words, please make some attempt to verify if it's true.

8. Never, ever open attachments that accompany emails unless you know what it is and why it was sent.  You can receive an email virus without becoming infected.  Once you open a virus, bingo you're infected.

9. Please use the text quoting feature responsibly.  Quote enough text so that I know what you are referring to, but keep it to a minimum.

10. Please use the Bcc line (Blind courtesy copy) to address when sending an email message to a group of people.  Recipients in the Bcc field are invisible to each other.  I may not want the other people you are writing to to have my email address. Also, spammers have been known to harvest email addresses from email headers.