A little more netiquette
Sometimes we copy just too many people into an email. It
might be because we’re taking a short-cut. It will save writing another one
later. Or it could be because we’re covering our backs. We want our line
manager to know we’ve had this conversation. Students might copy us in as well
with a similar motivation.
Then, of course, there are the congratulations. Yes, good to
reply all to these but delete them straight away afterwards though you might
want to keep any directed to yourself – keep a folder called Nice Emails. That
can really cheer you up on gloomy days.
However, we need to be careful. Copying to every man and his
dog can cause confusion and fill lots of mail boxes.
One simple trick makes it much easier:
Address the people who really need to see it, and cc others
who might find it useful.
Seriously consider whether cc’ing a line manager is
necessary. If the matter is serious you can keep the trail and pass it on later.
Give the colleague / student a chance to get it right first. There will be exceptions,
of course.
If you’re only cc’ed, you probably don’t need to reply nor
even keep the email.
What about bcc? It can be useful if addressing a mixed readership
of students and staff but sometimes it can even seem rude. You’re holding all
of the secrets and keeping them from other people in the group. Should you be
sending to a group if those people don’t trust each other anyway? Creating a proper
mailing list gets round this nicely.
Yes, recently I got involved in a complex exchange that was
copied in to so many people that I became increasingly confused about who I was
talking to and didn’t recognise a (deserved) apology when it arrived.
What to keep and what to throw away
Get rid of the huge attachments. You can take them off the email
and save the email if you want to but why would you want to for Student Support
Plans or Attendance Letters? Just save the attachment. However, sensitive information
shouldn’t be kept on local drives. Of course, our remote F drives fill up quickly
as well.
Student Support Plans are kept on the V drive so it may be a
matter of noting a name and referring to the V drive from time to time.
Copies of attendance letters go into student files anyway. Look
them up when you need to write a reference.
Promptness of reply
Three working days? Easy – the routines I’ve described elsewhere
on this blog usually allow emails to be answered within 24-48 hours. Normally. There
are exceptions:
·
When we’re busy marking
·
If we work 0.3 or 0.5 FTE – we can’t quite make
it in the three working days and stay sane. But we’re probably getting fewer emails
anyway. Train people to know that you can only answer Tuesday and Thursday or
whenever. I only answer Monday to Friday anyway. Usually.
·
When we’re ill ( hey we are human, you know)
·
When we’re away at a conference.
The out of office tool comes in useful
here. Keep people informed. When I’m marking I tend to prioritise students and colleagues
with urgent matters. However, it’s also worth considering:
·
If the information is available elsewhere, pointing
the student to it. (Blackboard, Blackboard, Blackboard – we have a VLE, we may
as well use it)
·
Building up the culture of a visit in office
hours being worth pages of emails.
·
Taking a sweep through the building, including the
canteen, a couple of times a day and making a point of talking to any students
or colleagues you see.
·
If three people ask you the same question, putting
an announcement containing the answer on Blackboard.
