New users of all ages and experience levels hit the Net every day. They're so new that even the most well-established netiquette can seem arcane and nonsensical to them. Especially when it comes to the killer app of all time: e-mail.
We've put together this list of advice and tips that you can send to your favorite relative, your verbose coworker, and that former frat brother who's found you on Facebook. It will teach them how best to get their missives to you in a way that won't annoy you, won't break the Internet, yet will get a timely, satisfactory response.1. Beware of hoaxes
People have the best intentions when forwarding dire warnings about the latest computer virus, telemarketer con jobs, extreme gas prices, and whatever chicanery the current political administration is trying to pull. The problem: The vast majority of e-mail about such topics is utter fiction.
We implore you: Whenever the opportunity strikes to pass on some juicy tale of woe that has hit your inbox, first visit Snopes.com. This is the Internet's master repository of what is a hoax and what isn't. Bookmark the site. Visit it and do a search. Whatever outrageous message you just received may, in fact, be only an urban legend. Other sites to check: The AFU & Urban Legends Archive and The Straight Dope.
2. Don't perpetuate pointlessness
Here's news you may not believe: Most people don't necessarily share your sense of humor. Or your belief in chain letters that can cause bad luck involving your reproductive organs.
Your friends and family are too polite to ask you to stop, and everyone else is far too busy dealing with important messages to want to wade through that nonsense. They all know to hit the delete key, but that doesn't mean receiving these messages isn't annoying.
At the very least, give your recipients the option of not being subject to your forwards. You'll be surprised how many people cheerfully say, "Hell, yes, take me off your list."
3. Get a permanent address
There's no such thing as a truly permanent and forever e-mail address. For most of the history of the Internet, people got e-mail addresses through either their Internet service provider or their employer. But few jobs or ISPs last forever, so that means changing your address, which means putting your friends through all the annoyance and hassle of updating their address books.
You can minimize the chances of going through that change by utilizing an e-mail from a provider you believe will be around a while. Gmail, Yahoo, even Hotmail are all good bets—even AOL is still around, assuming you stuck with it.
The only way to be sure your e-mail address is truly permanent is to control it. That means registering a domain name and buying e-mail service to go with it. If you want to be found by the same people forever, that's the only way.
4. Consolidate addresses
Got a 15-year-old AOL account you don't use? Have you signed up for every free Webmail in existence? Have a work address, ISP address, and maybe even one attached to your long-dead blog?
It's too much: Too many addresses for you to check, and worse, too much for your correspondents to keep track of. Narrow things down to only two addresses: one for newsletters, another for real people. You probably can't get rid of your work e-mail address—just don't give it to anyone outside of your industry. Delete your accounts with all the old services so that messages to them will bounce—but first, take a quick spin through those messages and be sure to inform anyone important to you about the change.
5. Don't hand out your address like candy
Your e-mail address is a precious commodity, assuming you don't want an inbox filled with spam, phishing schemes, and advertisements. Give it only to friends and coworkers. Eventually all addresses get spammed, but keeping it close will delay this for a while.
Many online services want an e-mail address when you sign up. But you don't necessarily want to receive e-mails from the service, much less spam from whomever they sell their mailing lists to. If you don't have a spare account for that purpose, use a temporary e-mail service. Such services provide an address good for a limited time—just enough time to sign up—and then it goes away, never to bother you again. Mailinator, 10MinuteMail, and YopMail are all good choices.
to be continued..........
0 comments
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন