Electronic mail has become a cost-effective mode of communication. And, as with all communication media, some basic rules must be kept in mind.

Avoid typing a message entirely in capitals : Use upper-lower case. Capitals tend to shout out the message and may imply an aggressive tone which was not intended.

Punctuation : Don’t ramble on in one big mass of text; separate your thoughts into paragraphs. Don’t use too many semi-colons, hyphens, brackets and exclamation marks.

Abbreviations : 'Neway' for anyway, 'b4' for before and the like should be done away with as they are difficult to understand. They're neither 'kewl' nor 'coot', but plain irritating.

Go easy on the humour and sarcasm : It's easy to misunderstand wit and sarcasm, especially when there are no vocal inflexions or facial expressions.

Use the subject line intelligently : It can make the difference between a message that gets read and one that' s passed over.

Circulation of jokes : Don't send jokes unless you are sure they will be welcomed. Don’t assume everybody likes receiving them.

Spamming : This is the electronic equivalent of junk mail - sending information about yourself and/or services you offer to people who have no interest in it. Spamming might be just what the doctor ordered for direct-marketers, but in the online world, it's taboo.

Chain Letters : They unnecessarily load the system and this interferes with the delivery of legitimate messages. Should you receive chain letters, pass them on to your service provider, who will suspend the offender's account.

Don't let e-mail become a substitute for in-person or phone conversations : Guard against using e-mail to converse with your colleagues in the office, next door. Unless the message must absolutely be in writing, try communicating the old-fashioned way : face to face. Walk down the hall. Or use the intercom. Often, a phone conversation takes a fraction of the time needed to compose a message, send it and wait for an answer.

Think about who may read your message : Consider not only the person the message is for but also anyone else who may read it. Do you need to comment about a third party in your message? Is what you need to say negative or could it be construed as such? If so, consider using the phone or meeting in person instead.

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