ANN ARBOR—If your parents ever told you that it was impolite to point, or to talk with your mouth full, you probably know already that effective communication requires a little etiquette. A new University of Michigan campaign hopes to teach people that e-mail communication also has standards for politeness.

Most inappropriate or rude e-mail messages “are not the result of malice, but inexperience,” says Joseph Saul, U-M Information Technology Division (ITD) research associate. Even people with e-mail experience have not necessarily considered the implications of the messages they send.

One common e-mail mistake is sending off-topic mass mailings, said Dora Winter, ITD user advocate. Sending a message to a large e-mail group that does not pertain to that group’s topic of discussion is impolite. An example of such off-topic mailing would be advertising your auto on a charitable organization’s e-mail group.

Equally inappropriate is responding to such off-topic mail by sending a reply to all members of the group. This causes an “e-mail storm,” Winter said. The high volume of messages that result from mass mailings can slow or clog systems.

Forwarding chain messages is also rude. And sending money in response to chain mail is considered gambling and is illegal under federal law.

The U-M ITD campaign aims “to help people be responsible users of electronic communication, understand what responsible use is, and communicate more effectively,” says Gwen Reichbach, ITD program manager. Users need to learn that, while sending a message to a few people is like “leaving a message on an answering machine,” sending to large e-mail groups is “more like posting a flyer or publishing an article.”

University of Michigan