Good Email Etiquette (Elementary version)

Please refer the Lake Washington School District Acceptable Use Policy for more information.

• Do think about what you are writing before you send the email.  
• Do make sure that what you are writing about is important to the person you are emailing.
• Do be polite.
• Do say what you mean, and mean what you say. You can use smileys such as :) or :( but make sure that the person you send them to understands what they mean.
• Do make sure that you have a "Subject" in your email message.
• Do use a person’s exact words from an earlier email if it is important when you answer back.
• Do be patient, just because email is easy for you, it doesn't mean that it is easy for the other person.
• Do include a brief signature on your email messages to help the other person know who the email is from.
• Do be careful when replying to mailing list messages.  Are you sure you want to reply to the whole list?
• Do remember to delete anything that isn't needed or is unimportant.
• Do tell the person that emailed you if you forward a message to somebody else, so they know.
• Do use bold, or italics to add attention to words where it’s useful to do so. You can also use a *star* either side of the word you want to stress.

Bad Email Etiquette

• Don't reply to an email message when you are mad or upset, as you may feel bad about it later. Once the message has been sent, you cannot take it back.
• Don't keep mail longer than you have to because it takes up space on the server.
• Don't copy out a long message just to add a line or two of words.
• Don't type in CAPITALS as this is considered to be SHOUTING. This is one of the rudest things you can do.
• Don't over-use punctuation marks such as exclamation marks ("!"). They can make an email hard to read.
• Don't send many messages out to people who have no interest in what you are sending. This is known as "spamming" and is considered to be bad email practice.
• Don't send chain letters messages. They are usually hoaxes and are not allowed in school email.
• Don't "flame" people by sending them bullying or hurtful email messages.
• Don't mark emails as urgent if they aren't really important.
• Don't post your email address on web sites and other public parts of the Internet.