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Replying To Your E-Mail Messages

Starr Williams

Most of you already know the basics of how to reply to your e- mail messages, but what some of you don't know is that you can reply to your e-mail messages using a more thoughtful and complete technique.

Just as there is...

 ...Dating etiquette - if you ask someone to go out  on  a  date,
then you should offer to pay

 ...Golf etiquette - allow faster players to play through

 ...Dinner etiquette - when invited to someone's home for dinner,
don't go empty handed

...E-mail etiquette - when replying to a message don't just send back your response as a stand-alone message. Include a copy of the original message (the one you are replying to) with your answer; thereby, giving the recipient the courtesy of being reminded which e-mail message your response relates to.

If you are using UNIX mail to read messages stored in your mailspool and wish to respond to the third message...

1.)   After reading the e-mail message, to reply type "r" at
     the ampersand and then press the "Return" key.

     2.)   Now after the addressee and subject are  automatically
     placed  on  your  screen, type "~m3" .  This code means: ~ =
     calling an e-mail escape, m = tells the mail handler to read
     in  a  message  from  the  mailspool,  3 = the number of the
     message you wish included.  You can then  proceed  with  the
     body  of  your  message, typing "control-d" to send off your
     reply.

     The person to whom you are sending a reply will upon reading
     his  e-mail  receive both his message that he sent you along
     with your reply.

     Some people do this in reverse order; type  in  their  reply
     then  read-in  the  original message.  The advantage of this
     procedure is  that  your  response  appears  first  and  the
     recipient need only read his original message following your
     answer if he wishes to review what he asked.

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