E-Mail Can Be Confusing

While E-Mail is great for communicating fast and easily, it can be confusing because the sender and receiver of such communications only see words ­ not gestures and emotions. Therefore, precision is central to E-Mail communications. Do not use capitalization unless it is necessary. Avoid sarcasm, as this can be very dangerous. For example, "What are you talking about?" can be construed in many ways: a joke, an attack or a sarcastic remark. Use a clear subject line, signature line, header, body and footer in all E-Mail communications.

Be Safe When Sending Jokes or Sarcastic E-Mail

Sending jokes or sarcastic e-mail to people you are not too familiar with could create unpleasantness, when the other person is offended by or misunderstands your jokes or sarcasm. In general, avoid sending such e-mail to people you do not know very well.

Use your address book. It is there for a reason! Create a group and add only people you know very well to this group. If you really have that urge to forward or send a joke to a friend, just send them to this group alone.