Dear All

Oxford IT Group e-mail system goes live 1/9/98.  It covers all the medical
educationalists in the 4 counties of the old region, and will (hopefully)
soon include the registrars too.  Some are old hands with IT, some have no
previous experience.

The IT group thought a novice guide to e-mail might be useful and here is
an attempt.  Would anyone like to comment / contribute?

Julian Bradley
GP Tutor


Oxford IT Group (Draft 2), with thanks to Drs Ahmad Risk and Katie Law


General

Check your e-mails regularly and frequently.  If you need to respond at
all, and you are able, respond immediately.


Style matters

Wrap lines at 72 characters.

As in most good writing use short sentences and short paragraphs.  It's
easier to see and easier to quote in replies.

-  use numbers, letters and dashes to make your text clear

-  use * to emphasise words

Remember that in e-mail ALL IN CAPS means SHOUTING.

Use plain (ascii) text e-mails, no html in e-mail, no dat or vcf files and
in general don't use techno wonders just for the hell of it.

All e-mails should be signed with a brief but usable and appropriate
signature.


Replying and quoting

It's common practice to quote a little of the original e-mail when
replying.  Most programmes automatically start by including the whole text
of the previous e-mail when you press the reply button.  See below, but
usually delete most or all of this - learn selective quoting.

Don't quote entire message just to add a one liner (unless the message was
a one liner).

Try and keep to a consistent format - e.g. usually quote at top then respond.

If absolutely necessary to split and respond to small chunks label quotes
clearly and leave blank lines between quoted text and your comments.

If you feel that the quoting process is getting too complicated or you are
quoting a quote, add the initials at top of the block e.g.

JW:
>>
>>
>>

JB:
>
>
>

Avoid blank lines with just > in them (above example excepted!)


Security

If you're sufficiently paranoid included the following:-

"Internet communications are not necessarily secure and therefore the
author does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this
message.  Any views or opinions presented are those of the author(s) and
should not be held to represent those of any organisation."

Note normal e-mail is NOT suitable for communication about named or
identifiable patients, nor for transferring sensitive financial information
(like your credit card details).


Attachments

Use no attachments of any sort when posting to a mail-base or mail list.

If sending attachments within the Oxford region ensure the files have 8
character (8.3) names.


File formats

Transmit documents as .rtf files of Word 6 .doc files.  If you have Word 97
a patch available from Microsoft improves the reliability of the "save as
Word 6.0 format" option.

If spreadsheets or databases need to be transmitted check with the
recipient that they can read the format you want to send.

.csv files can be a useful way of overcoming differences in some
circumstances.


Social rules

E-mail isn't quite like a conversation nor quite like letter writing.
Because of this people sometimes (maybe) forget how to behave.  Remember
you're writing to a person, not a machine.  It's OK or at least possible to
be rude, but remember the normal social rules and the Pendleton rules.
Humour is OK too e.g. "Mike reformed electrons into:"

If it's necessary to be critical try to be constructive.

Remember colleagues on e-mail are not or may not be there to help, but can
often be very helpful.
Expect participants to be more than averagely outspoken.


Subject titles

Subject titles - These matter most if you're repeatedly e-mailing a group
of people or using a mailbase.  If your e-mail is consistently 1:1 what
follows is less important but still a good habit.

If replying directly to a previous e-mail press the reply button on your
e-mail programme or be sure to use the same title or "Re: the old title"

If the conversation moves on use a new title that best describes the
subject of your e-mail.


To follow

E-mail abbreviations
Smileys

Julian Bradley
for Oxford IT group




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