Email is magical for its amazing ability to get people to despise you through its misuse. It’s rare that those who are offended by inappropriate emails call the abuser out on their foibles, so offenders often continue unchecked. But this has to stop. People need to slap some virtual hands to correct bad behavior.

Young Entrepreneur leads the assault by identifying email errors to avoid:

* Forward chain letters. There was a brief period in 1996 when this was halfway allowable, but those were the caveman days. There’s no longer room for such shenanigans.

* Act like you’re texting. Emails are more formal and professional than text messages, so avoid the gratuitous emoticons and pathetic spelling and grammar

* Using a company email for private messages. You’ve got a personal account, so use it for your personal needs and don’t soil your company records with correspondence that could get you in trouble.

* BCC bombing. Use the blind carbon copy function to protect your recipients, not exploit them. Its use makes sense when you’re sending out a mass email but don’t want to share everyone’s address with one another. Don’t use it to secretively let others eavesdrop on your conversation.

* Get hooked by phishers. Clicking on spammy messages is an invitation to let your account be hacked, sending out unwanted messages to those in your address book. When you discover your account has been exploited, change your password and send out an apology message to let recipients know you’ve taken care of the problem.

12 Golden Rules Of Email Etiquette [Young Entrepreneur]

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