Email etiquette

Keep it succinct. Some call my six-line limit generous. Newsgroups and mailing lists that accept subscribers posts often have strict rules about the length of sig files - many say four lines is the maximum allowed.

Even if I was the one to ask the question, the chances are that if you send me an email that just says, 'Yes', I am not going to remember the question unless I've just asked you to marry me (which is very unlikely, since I'm already married). So, netiquette dictates that you repeat a small part of the question or original email so that I am reminded of our last conversation.

This is usually a feature that you can configure in your software, which will repeat the ENTIRE original message, placing a '>' at the beginning of each line. You can then simply delete the extraneous parts from your reply.

Don't forget to say 'please'

Remember your real-world manners. Whether you are asking someone to pass the salt or emailing someone to 'cancel my newsletter', the magic word is still 'please'.

Large files (let's say anything over 100K) can be time-consuming to download - especially for someone with a slow connection - and some email systems set a limit on how large a file you can receive.

Broadcasting email messages to multiple lists and individuals regardless of their possible interest is called spamming. Polite email users do not spam.