The Ten Commandments
(and Four Amendments) of E-Mail

  1. Thou shalt express thyself in brevity, for life is short, bandwidth is precious, and thy recipient is a busy person nigh unto death.
  2. Thou shalt proofread thy messages, for none do heed the sayings of the unschooled and attention is paid not unto the inept of communication.
  3. Thou shalt provide a signature file with thy communications, for the worthy sign their work and own up to it.
  4. Thou shalt send unto the multitudes via bcc, for they who are blessed to be on lists enjoy not the extended mailto.
  5. Thou shalt warn thy recipients of attachments, revealing the agency by which they were created, and like the mustard seed shall be their filesize.
  6. Thou shalt reply to inquiries like unto the speeding gazelle, for they who wouldst speak with thee via ones and zeroes expect this of thee.
  7. Thou shalt not traffic in spam, chain mail, or hoaxes, for the righteous clog not the Internet with dross and folly.
  8. Thou shalt not assume thy recipient hath the exact same apparatus and software as you, for manifold are the contraptions and conniptions of the Internet.
  9. Thou shalt empty thy mailbox frequently, as postmasters loveth not the packrat who fills the server with un-needful things.
  10. Thou shalt back up thy email like unto a paranoid, for boxes of beige are mortal like unto the mayfly, and will forget their contents if angered.

Amendment the First:
Thou shalt familiarize thyself as to the rules of the road, speaking not all in caps like unto the shouter in the wilderness.

Amendment the Second:
Thou shalt edit thy replies, giving just enough of what has gone before to clarify what the response sayeth.

Amendment the Third:
Thou shalt save copies of outgoing email, for the wise keep track of the hither and thither of communication.

Amendment the Fourth:
Thou shalt remember to watch thy digital tongue, as words by wire have permanence, and email security is as the Cheese of Switzerland in its holey-ness.

Presented as a public service by:
Mike Gould, In Charge, MondoDyne Web Works - mgould@mondodyne.com
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