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May 23, 2005.
Kristy Moon, editor.
Lost & Found
Have you recently lost or misplaced something in Gates Hall? Then stop by the
Lost & Found at the Library Circulation Desk. If it’s been over two
weeks, check the campus-wide Lost & Found located at the Husky Union Building
Information Desk (hours and location at
http://depts.washington.edu/sauf/hub/infodesk.php).
New Library Display – “Ask Us”
Sure, we can help you with legal research, but if you’ve ever wondered what types of questions are asked in the
Reference Office, take a look at the new “Ask Us” display in the glass case
by the Library entrance. Here are some past questions:
- Where can I find
copies of the laws passed when Washington was a territory (before it became a
state)?
- Where can I find a sample employment contract for a
professional athlete?
- Is there any data on the average cost of health
care at the end of life, and in the last 30 days, 6 months, and 12 months?
Summer Job Tips (Part 3) & Book of the Week: E-mail
--Kristy Moon
Whether you
think of e-mail as one of the greatest communication tools, a giant
time-waster, or something in between, e-mail is an unavoidable part of
today’s work life. And as such, it is worth giving some attention to,
especially in light of (1) the concern that a panel of local attorneys
expressed about law students not understanding appropriate e-mail style in a
professional setting and legal ramifications of e-mail in the workplace, and
(2) the probability that you’ll communicate via e-mail at your summer job and
leave a lasting impression of yourself. (How lasting? See below.)
Christina Cavanagh’s book Managing Your E-mail: Thinking Outside the Box
(Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003) (TK5105.73 C38 2003 at
Classified Stacks) is packed with information about e-mail. Below are
some of her findings and recommendations.
E-mail Is Vulnerable
What is an e-mail message’s shelf-life?
- When I delete it, it’s gone.
- My employer has an expunge policy and it deletes e-mail records periodically.
- As long as the e-mail resides on the sender’s or receiver’s personal computer (either in the inbox or the folders).
- Potentially indefinite.
The shelf-life of an e-mail is potentially indefinite (even if the employer has
an expunge policy and deletes e-mail records periodically) because every
message that passes through the e-mail server is copied and saved on the
backup.
At how many points can an e-mail message be intercepted?
- None.
- One – my employer’s server.
- Two – the sender’s outbox and the receiver’s inbox.
- Four – two employers’ servers and their backup tapes
- Almost infinite.
If you chose d or e, you’re on the right track. When an e-mail message is sent
out on the Internet, it can be intercepted by third parties while the
sender’s server attempts to connect with the receiver’s server.
E-mails are surprisingly vulnerable because they live forever, the sender has no control
once they are sent out, and they can be used as evidence in litigation, which
takes us to the next point.
Legal Ramifications
Electronic documents thought to be lost or destroyed can be recovered. For
example, it is possible to recover and compare backups of documents to show
that a particular document was altered or destroyed and when the activity
took place. With e-mail, we’ve all heard of stories where messages were
subpoenaed or dug up through discovery, and used either as evidence in
litigation or to publicly embarrass the companies.
Although companies are increasingly monitoring employees’ electronic communications
through software that flag suspect e-mails by searching for designated
keywords, this does not mean that employers are actively reading employees’
messages – no employer has time or resources to do so. Still employers
are concerned about possible liabilities and loss of productivity. (A survey
by the American Management Association in 2002 showed that over 50 percent of
companies review and record their employees’ e-mails and Internet usage, and
25 percent of companies have dismissed employees for abusing e-mail or the
Internet while at work.)
- Do not commit anything to e-mail that you would not want made public. Think
of e-mail as akin to a postcard – anyone can read it.
- Content-sensitive information such as competitive intelligence,
intellectual capital developed within a firm, human resources issues,
insider knowledge regarding organizational changes, and financial dealings
(whether your e-mail system is encrypted or protected) should not be sent
by e-mail. E-mails not touching upon these sensitive areas should be
composed with the same care as a letter to a client.
- Remember that there is no such thing as deleted e-mail.
- Protect your e-mail account by locking your computer whenever you walk away from
your desk. It would be extremely difficult to prove that you did not
send a particular message.
Style
Sending poorly composed messages with typos and grammatical errors creates a lasting
impression, over time, of the sender’s competence and overall capability.
How do you feel when you receive an e-mail message that is quickly followed
up with a second message correcting and clarifying the initial information?
Even if this were to happen only two or three times in a span of six months,
you might begin to give less credence to the sender’s messages and feel that
your time is not being respected or valued.
- Keep the e-mail tone personable but not personal. A phrase can come across
differently when written instead of spoken, and a tone that is too casual,
terse, or brusque may evoke an unintended response. Include a
salutation, such as the receiver’s name, and a thank-you to add civility.
- Errors such as typos, grammatical mistakes, missing words, sending the message to
the wrong person, or accidentally hitting “reply all” can all be avoided by
spell-checking (set this up as an automated feature) and quickly
proofreading.
- Try to enhance the readability of your message with paragraph breaks, headings,
bullet points, and shorter sentences. A good rule of thumb is to keep
the length of the message (including your signature) to one screen.
- Do not use cutesy acronyms and emoticons. Many consider them to be
unprofessional and the majority of e-mail users don’t know what they are.
- Enter the receiver’s address last, after you’ve composed the message to your
satisfaction; this prevents accidentally sending an incomplete or a
possibly embarrassing message. Insert the attachment before composing
the message; how many times have you received an e-mail that referred to a
non-existent attachment?
- Never send an e-mail when you’re irritable or tired, or you’ll live to regret it;
instead, save it as a draft message and read it the next day.
For Summer Job Tips Parts 1 and 2, see
http://lib.law.washington.edu/news/2005/May9.html and
http://lib.law.washington.edu/news/2005/May16.html.
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