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What are the Benefits of E-Mail?
E-mail allows you to:
. Keep in touch
with family and friends
. Make pen pals all around the world
. Get help with homework and work, from classmates, teachers,
or colleagues.
. Cut down on phone calls and fax expenses by using e-mail instead.
What are the Risks Associated
with E-Mail?
E-mail can also
open the door to a number of risks:
. Spam Mail: You
may receive unwanted computer junk-mail, known as "Spam." People
send out these mass e-mails to sell their products, attract
people to their Web sites, or entice them into moneymaking schemes.
. Pornographic Spam:
This is also a common problem for e-mail users, especially when
using free Web-based e-mail services such as Hotmail.
. Harassing or intimidating
e-mail Messages: Sometimes, if your e-mail address
falls into the wrong hands- via a Web site, chat room or newsgroup
posting - you could receive harassing or intimidating e-mail
messages, including pornography.
. Cyber stalking:
Worse than all of the above is when strangers sometimes
try to befriend children and young adults, alienate them from
their families via e-mail correspondence, and even pressure
them into a real-world meeting. This is called cyber
stalking, and it's the online equivalent of real-world
stalking. Such a stranger might intend to abduct or sexually
molest a child. This is very rare; but it does happen, and the
risk must be taken seriously.
. Computer Viruses:
e-mail attachments can be contaminated with computer viruses
that could ruin your hard disk, entire computer, or even replicate
and send itself to all addresses on your mailing list.
Mitigating E-Mail Risk
. If you receive
inappropriate messages or material, (your are being "spammed"
). There are a few steps you can take to deal with the matter
| |
- First, do
not respond to the message.
- Second, try to track down the company or ISP from which
the message originated, and report the inappropriate correspondence.
- Third, you can block messages coming from a specific
email address by setting up a filter to direct any messages
from that address directly into your mail's Trash folder. |
. If you receive
an e-mail attachment your are suspecious of, delete it immediately
without opening it. For all other e-mail attachment, check the
file for viruses before you open it. Most schools, universities,
and Internet Cafes have there own regulations about e-mail attachments.
Make sure you review and abide by the set regulations at all
times.
E-Mail Etiquette
. Assume what
you write in an e-mail is going to be public knowledge.
Basically, do
not write anything within your e-mails that you would not mind
other people hearing about. There is always a chance that the
person you send the e-mail to will forward it to many others.
. Pay attention
to "Form" when you write.
One of the first
rules you learn when you get online is that you should not write
EVERYTHING IN UPPERCASE!
Mixed-case text
is more relaxing to read. Uppercase is used when somebody wants
to indicate that they are SHOUTING. However, few people will
read a message that SCREAMS at them.
When typing in a message, break it up into paragraphs. People
often skip enormous blocks of text. If you want them to read
what you say, break it into paragraphs, with a blank line in
between.
. Keep what you
want to say short, precise, and to the point.
Before you start
to type, think first about what you want to say. Get your ideas
straight in your head, and figure out how they all fit together.
Then write it in as few words as possible. There is a lot of
information on the net, people are receiving more and more e-mails
everyday. If you want them to be read what you write, make sure
it is not a "thinking out loud" exercise.
It is a good idea
to use short paragraphs. This forces you to express yourself
with a minimum of words.
Also, bear in
mind that it is harder to read text on a computer screen than
in a book. Small paragraphs give the reader's eyes some relief.
. When you write
something, make sure that it is clear enough for people to understand
you.
After you type
in a message -- and before you send it -- try reading it again.
Sometimes sentences that seem to be okay when you're typing
don't really work when you read them back.
. Be very careful
when quoting.
Quoting is when
you take the entire message that another person has written
and embed it in your reply. Although a helpful feature available
with most e-mails and message boards, it can also make it less
likely that people will read what you write.
Quoting an entire
message, just to add a phrase like "I agree" can be
irritating to the person who has to scroll all the way through
the message, looking for the part that you wrote. It makes more
sense for you to quote only a few important sentences that summarize
the message adequately, and place your comment after that.
Simply agreeing with something doesn't add much to the conversation.
It is better to state the reason for why you agree or disagree,
or not quote at all.
. Avoid Step-Laddering
Step-laddering
is when people quote entire messages that contain quotes from
earlier messages, which in turn contain quotes from still earlier
messages (quoting a quotation which quotes another quotations
.and so on).
Step-laddering
is a serious problem, because by the time the reader gets to
your text, it is not clear what you are commenting on.
Once again, you
should extract only a few sentences that accurately represent
the topic you are writing about. This saves the reader time,
and ensures that the context of your reply is obvious.
. If you want
to come across well to whomever is reading your messages, watch
your spelling.
No matter how
clever or intelligent you are, if you spell badly, people will
take your words less seriously.
Most computers
have one or more spell check programs. Some of them even have
spell-checkers built right in to the email or browser software
you are using. Learn how these work, and use them.
People on the
Internet don't necessarily know who you are -- they can only
see what you type. So take the time to make sure that what you
write makes you look good.
A word of warning,
though, spell-check programs are not perfect. They tend to miss
mistakes like this sentence: "Always right your thoughts
clearly." So even if you spell-check your text, it's a
good idea to read it over before you send it.
. Be polite and cordial, watch your manners as you write.
When you are sitting
comfortably in front of your computer, safe from the world,
it might be tempting to write a message that is so harshly phrased
that it is insulting.
You should always
read what you have written before you send your message. Not
only will this help you spot errors in spelling, phrasing and
grammar, but you may also notice that you don't sound as friendly
as you would like.
. Never send virus-infected
mail to anyone.
. Do not send
"Chain Letters" or broadcast messages to a large group
of individuals as this could congest the networks unnecessarily.
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