Efficiency

1. Keep your e-mail message short and to the point.
   
   
2. The e-mail subject should be detailed enough to give the recipient an idea about the e-mail content without having to open it. Single words like "Hi" or "Hello" or "Help" are unhelpful, think of meaningful but short titles.
   
   
3. If you have to e-mail more than two documents as attachments, zip them into one file. Doing so would ensure that the recipient will not miss downloading any file. There are many programmes which can do this, such as WinZip or 7-zip.
   
   
4. Do not attach large attachments in your e-mail since not everyone is on a broadband connection. If you have to send a large file over e-mail, check first if the recipient is able to receive the file, and give them an idea of the filesize.  Use a free service such as www.yousendit.com to send large files.

Security

5. When sending e-mails to multiple recipients please use the 'bcc' field. This will help to limit the access of potential ‘spammers’ to e-mail addresses.
   Insert your own e-mail address into the ‘to’ field to prevent e-mail showing as having undisclosed recipients. Insert the recipients e-mail addresses using the 'bcc' field, look at the help files of your own e-mail client (Outlook, Thunderbird...) to determine how to use the 'bcc' field.
   
   
6. You may wish to remove your personal mobile number and the home number from the e-mail signature if you are participating in a big mailing list. You never know the kind of people who have subscribed to that list.

General Etiquette

7. Do not automatically request a Read Notification Receipt as this can seem aggressive to the recipient. Please consult your e-mail client's help files about how to switch this off.
   
   
8. Always endeavour to reply to e-mails, especially the ones specifically addressed to you. The sender is still waiting to hear from you.
   
   
9. Do not hit the Send button without doing a spell check.
   
   
10. Re-read the message where possible before sending it.