E-mail is Consuming A Great Deal Of Our Lives
We have been given a fast, inexpensive, efficient means of communication - often without instruction or training. This can be dangerous.

E-mail Etiquette Article 1:
Not Using Your Address List in the "TO:" or "CC;" Lines
E-mail Etiquette Article 2:
Take a Breath and Check it Out Before Hitting the FW Button
E-mail Etiquette Article 3:
Office E-mail - Your Personal E-mail? Or Building Your Business on Your Boss' Dollars
E-mail Etiquette Article 4:
Setting Yourself Apart in a World of Spam - Subject Lines and Personalities
E-mail Etiquette Article 5:
OH NO - Not Another Word.doc Attachment!
E-mail Etiquette Article 6:
So You Want to Send Attachment Files

1. E-mail Request:
Not Using Your Address List in the "TO:" or "CC:" Lines

Often we get e-mails from folks who have added our e-mail addresses to their address book. That's generally fine, but when they write and their mailing list is placed in the "TO:" or "CC:" lines, who they write to, and about what, is exposed to the entire mailing. We would request that would not be done.

The problems:
Here's what happens... those addresses get harvested or left in the e-mail message when forwarded, and then added to everyone else's mailing lists. We then get bombarded with more and more unsolicited mail. We get tons (too much) as it is right now, and we would prefer not getting everyone's get-rich-quick schemes, kitty-cat poems, joke-o-the-day, etc. - and eventually more porn and other junk we just don't want, or have time to sift thru. You know, all those "FW:" people just can't resist sending all over the world.

Privacy should be protected.
By exposing those e-mail addresses, the folks you write to, and about what, is now common knowledge to all. Many feel that "any friend of YOURS is a friend of mine, and they would certainly be interested in all the stuff I am and therefore...." - we all get more and more e-mail.

Another thought on this is... supposed someone has something against you or whatever or whoever on the list. You've just supplied them a means to communicate with all of us very quickly. That is scary. It's best to protect your address list like your friend's cell phone numbers - you wouldn't give them out to telemarketers. The same thoughts apply to organization phone lists or any electronic information that get circulated around via e-mail. It is really best not to do that. Identity thieves only need a couple bits of information to clean out your bank account.

It only takes a second to write to everyone on your list and say (either true or false) "you know so-and-so... they owe me money", or "...their group is questionable", or "...look at these pictures I found of them on the web". You've given that person quick access to all on your e-mail list. It takes a lifetime and tons of energy to try and correct all that.

It's better to...:
When you address your e-mail to more than just one person (besides your close family or a couple employees on a job/project topic) - PLEASE address the e-mail to YOURSELF, then put all the other addresses hidden in the "BCC:" line (Blind Courtesy Copy), not in the "TO:" or "CC:" line - where the list is exposed.

Your e-mail program will allow you to create address mailing groups, this can help you manage bulk mailings. Consult your manual for help. For those sending from their company e-mail, check first with your user policies, and with your IT professional for the best way to handle bulk mailings.

If you do forward a appropriate e-mail, be sure to delete any e-mail addresses and other useless e-junk that accumulates and is included in any forwarded messages.

For organizational information (members, phone lists, youth info, etc.), such valuable info should be posted on a secure website with password access - ONLY. Be sure you have permission from each person on that list that they approve of their info being available to others. Sometimes well meaning event organizers post everyone's cell phone numbers on files and do a mass mailing. If you do not have complete approval, DO NOT CIRCULATE that info.

We (and we're sure all you e-mail) appreciate your attention to this.

Norm and Ann Myers, Partners
FiveStones Design Factory
Custom Website and Graphic Design, Advertising, Marketing,
Presentations, Illustration, Publishing, Product Development
Certified Sign Language Interpreting, Communications
www.FiveStones.com

How many of those panic FW e-mails have we gotten, only to find out later that the girl in the story was not abducted, that the plane in the photo was not hitting the World Trade Center, that by sending this e-mail to everyone on your mailing list you'll be getting Bill Gate's money. All false, hoaxes, urban legends, etc.

Before you hit the FW button and blitz your entire address book or business contacts (see previous article), take a breath. Go to google and type in some key words relating to the story with the word "hoax". Chances are (my guess - 98% of the time), it is a proven urban legend. There are plenty of websites that will be in the search results that handle these internet lies, so take the time to read key things listed in these stories.

Just add up all the wasted employee hours, company resources, panic prayers and energy chasing these false stories, an it's really worth a few moments to "prove all things" before sending?

We (and we're sure all you e-mail) appreciate your attention to this.

Norm and Ann Myers, Partners
FiveStones Design Factory
Custom Website and Graphic Design, Advertising, Marketing,
Presentations, Illustration, Publishing, Product Development
Certified Sign Language Interpreting, Communications
www.FiveStones.com

Literally - at our fingertips sits a very powerful communication tool - the office e-mail and internet access. Your employer has paid a great deal in IT resources and monthly fees to provide high-speed connection in order for you to do your work. That is the purpose of the tool, the same as the office copier, the expense account, office supplies, phone, etc. They are paid for by the company to do their business.

Unfortunately, many feel that the internet is free and put there for their personal and private business benefit. I can't list the number of e-mails I get from entrepreneurs or well-meaning folks with those communications thru their company's e-mail. They use it for their silly stuff (see Article 2), but also their important personal business communication. The amount of time and resources "stolen" from companies, government offices or non-profits is huge with personal e-mail and internet use.

Read the Employee Handbook
Part of the problem falls with the employer for not making the e-mail and internet usage policy very clear up front. It's usually not until there is an individual that has obvious abuse that these issues get attention. Most employees use the company resources properly, but many do not take into account the liabilities that are open with non-company use.

It needs to be noted that all e-mails and internet visits are known by IT Departments and there is cause for dismissal or even legal action if the company determines abuse is taken place.

Also, you run the risk of having any vital information you were transmitting being lost. Don't assume your office computer will always be there with your files on them. Many times unannounced computer services result in the box on your desk going away. We all know of stories of broken water pipes or natural disasters that can harm equipment. Having your personal health correspondence, or start-up business proposal on a company hard drive that just died and went away over the weekend with the with the IT geek is very dangerous.

The way to handle things properly is to:
FIRST: Know and comply to your company policy.
SECOND: Don't do anything that might bring harm to yourself or your company.
THIRD: If you do have personal time privileges to check e-mail or surf the internet, set up a remote personal account. Do not use the company e-mail address or e-mail service for those communications.
FOURTH: Remember when you are on the company clock, your being paid to do company work not to build your own business.
FIFTH: Be careful about sending and downloading attachments. The same rules apply to those files.

Some suggestions for personal e-mail:
Your home e-mail account may be able to be accessed thru an internet-based means (thru your web browser and not your home e-mail program). If not, you can set up a yahoo, or gmail, or other account that will allow you to send and check e-mails without downloading the files to your business computer. These can be checked just about anywhere with an internet connection and password access. You can wait until your home to download any attachments or save files.

Norm and Ann Myers, Partners
FiveStones Design Factory
Custom Website and Graphic Design, Advertising, Marketing,
Presentations, Illustration, Publishing, Product Development
Certified Sign Language Interpreting, Communications
www.FiveStones.com

How much spam do you get each day? What do you look for to determine spam from valid e-mails? It might be the senders' name or e-mail address, or the subject line. With that in mind, if you want to have your e-mail survive the delete key and actually be read, try using a clear subject line.

So many vital e-mails I get from business have either no subject line, or a very vague/common word - such as: "Hi", "Website", "It's Me", "Important", "Change", etc. Or for those precious AOL users that do not put in a subject line we get: "(No Subject)". Those one-word subjects often look like the hundreds of spam mail by the same subject.

There are many reasons to take a second and type in a clear subject. For me, it has to do with sorting, filing, and following a thread or discussion about a project. I prefer that my clients put their company ID first, then a pretty clear description of what the e-mail is about. For example:
Subject: My Company - Add New Content to Website

Also, take a look at how your "From" is viewed. If you have a unique e-mail address, it might get deleted by the user. If you send your e-mails as cuteasabutton@gmail.com or tim1942coolguy@yahoo.com - it stands a good chance of getting deleted. Look around your e-mail program and there should be a place to put in an actual name or personality. Then the e-mail might look like this:
Tim P. Smith "tim8822coolguy@yahoo.com"

The reader might recognize his friend Tim Smith's name and actually open and read the message. Don't make the mistake of just using another nickname in that setup. Leslie "cuteasabutton@hotmail.com" will look like the zillion pieces of junk mail that come in each week.

It is not a bad idea to include your company name in that setup as well:
Tim P. Smith - ABC Co. "Tim8822coolguy@yahoo.com"

Of course the gold standard for business or personal e-mail is to register your own domain name and have YourName@YourCompany.com identify the e-mail. This promotes your website and business, rather than yahoo, aol, google or whoever. A vital minor expense for businesses, but maybe not worth the cost for personal e-mail. Contact FiveStones.com to help you with domain setup and website development.

Norm and Ann Myers, Partners
FiveStones Design Factory
Custom Website and Graphic Design, Advertising, Marketing,
Presentations, Illustration, Publishing, Product Development
Certified Sign Language Interpreting, Communications
www.FiveStones.com

Another of my personal e-mail nightmares - MSWord.doc attachments. I know I'm in the minority of computer users that live all day in MSWord (many of us don't), but there are some good reasons NOT to send those blasted .doc files all over the internet. Here are a couple:

It's just text
I can't begin to count the times someone has sent me some text - perhaps to update a web page, or some directions to an event, etc. - and they typed it into a Word.doc and sent it in their e-mail as an attachment. Hey - IT'S JUST TEXT. Please put it in the body of the e-mail! That way the reader doesn't have to open the e-mail, read the e-mail, open the attachment (and MSWord - if it is not open already), read the attachment, then file the .doc file. All those steps can be eliminated by typing or pasting the text into the e-mail message. It is easier to save an e-mail than dork around with all those .doc files.

Then they often send revisions, or other files with the same filename.doc. The amount of valuable time wasted managing and comparing those files adds up.

Again, I know I'm in the minority, but not all of us have MSWord open all day. Many of us graphic-type folks have several large programs continually running and Word just gets in the way. With e-mail being checked on phones and other gadgts, MSWord may not be available.

How about a PDF?
If your Word.doc file has formatting that has to maintained, PDF is a better way to transmit that info. Word docs can be edited (unless saved as read-only, but that can be side-stepped), and since they are displaying live text, your font choices and layout may not be the same for the reader. If you save as a PDF, you can preserve your layout, embed any fonts, make images or graphics smaller in files size, and have a document that will universally display and print better.

MSWord.docs are intended to be edited, so as your flyer or whatever gets passed around, the information can be easily changed. Are you comfortable with that? PDFs can be edited, but most users do not have the programs to do it, so your info is safer.

I didn't mean for you to read that!
There are "helpful" MS features that are built into word processing programs that can actually be harmful. Viewing last versions of legal or sensitive documents can (and has) cause all sorts of problems.

Put it on a website
If you have organization information your sharing with many folks, rather than have each person your e-mailing go thru all the steps of managing your attached file, build a simple website and post the information there. PDF files are great to stick on a server and they can be downloaded and read at the user's convenience. Knowing the file is on your server, they may not feel the need to do file management with each piece of information you want to send out. A link in an e-mail to information hosted on your website is generally best for the reader.

If personal information is in the document, a web page or PDF file can be password protected. Be sure to have documented permission from each person to post and distribute that information.

According to microsoft.com, there are also potential security problems with sending .doc attachment files. With viruses, worms and all sorts of potential computer harm out there, it is best to limit attachments whenever possible. For safely, many of your readers may not be opening your attached file.

Please consider everyone's time and security when distributing electronic information.

Norm and Ann Myers, Partners
FiveStones Design Factory
Custom Website and Graphic Design, Advertising, Marketing,
Presentations, Illustration, Publishing, Product Development
Certified Sign Language Interpreting, Communications
www.FiveStones.com

6. So You Want to Send Attachment Files

If you wish to send us your digital pictures or other files for your job please follow these instructions. Failure to do so may mean that your pictures do not make it to our office and therefor delay production.

1. Contact FiveStones to discuss what files you wish to send. Please e-mail us and let us know what type of files and how many to expect. Do not send the files at that time. After we discuss your job THEN, PLEASE FOLLOW THE NEXT STEPS.

2. Do Not Create File Management Work for the Recipient. Just think how many "resume.doc" or "resume.pdf" files are being sent. YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE. Name your file:

- YourNameResume.pdf

If you are sending other file types like CADD, XL, PPT, etc., please be sure to read the above article on sending .doc files (article #5). In most cased, we would prefer NOT to receive them.

3. Determine the file sizes. Generally, we want to work with the highest resolution of image files, but there are times that smaller files sized are preferred. After we discuss how they are going to be used, we may determine that smaller files are better to send. If your photos are large from a scan or your digital camera and we determine you can reduce them, you can use PhotoShop or photo editing software to reduce the image size. If that is the case, A good size would be approx. 5"-8" wide or tall (approx. 600 pixels) at 72ppi resolution. The size will probably below 400k each for each image. Save them as JPGs with NO COMPRESSION. This will maintain the image quality and they will transmit quickly over the internet.

4. Rename your photo files. Your digital camera or scans will give some file names such as "MVC-005S.JPG", or "175-7599_IMG.JPG". These file names make no sense to us with the volume of jobs we are servicing. Rename your files something like:

- yourjobname01.jpg
- yourjobname02.jpg
- yourjobname03.jpg
- yourjobname04.jpg
- yourjobname05.jpg
- etc....

Subject: ABC Web Pics 1of5
Subject: ABC Web Pics 2of5
Subject: ABC Web Pics 3of5
Subject: ABC Web Pics 4of5
Subject: ABC Web Pics 5of5

6. Provide job information. Let us know in the e-mail what we are expecting and provide details of the attached files. It doesn't hurt to list the file names and describe how they are to be used. Include your phone numbers and e-mail address.

Following these steps will help us manage your job and assist us with file organization and reduce production time.

Thank you - FiveStones

Norm and Ann Myers, Partners
FiveStones Design Factory
Custom Website and Graphic Design, Advertising, Marketing,
Presentations, Illustration, Publishing, Product Development
Certified Sign Language Interpreting, Communications
www.FiveStones.com

Who is FiveStones?

FiveStones Design Factory specializes in creating custom websites and graphic design. FiveStones consults on internet website manufacturing and hosting as well as all aspects of advertising, print, marketing and promotional material design. FiveStones builds premier websites and graphics according to clients' needs and specifications. Custom logos, brochures, illustrations, or whatever your company may need for professional collateral.
See samples of FS websites. 
See samples of graphic design work.

FiveStones Communications provides professional communications services including certified sign language interpreting, instruction and consulting.
See list of ASL-related services.