07.18.07
email etiquette
I’ve run into a couple sites that talk briefly about email etiquette. See http://www.thanksno.com/ and http://five.sentenc.es/
I love email as a communication tool. I can send email whenever it suits me, and the recipient can respond whenever it suits him. But this main benefit also makes email easy to abuse. I’ve known people to fire off anything they think is remotely interesting. Even if its epic-length. Even if its pornographic. Even if its mind-numbingly boring.
Here’s my general rule. If I run across something that’s interesting enough that I would call a person on the phone to tell him about what I found, then I feel free to email him. Similarly, if you find something interesting or funny that makes you think of me, and you would call me to tell me about it if you had to, then go ahead and email it, because I’ll probably think its funny too. But if it doesn’t pass this simple test, post it to your blog and help prevent inbox clutter.
