University Email Lists

Tips and Techniques for Email Postings

The ANU has a diverse information technology landscape and many different software packages are used for administering emails.  These packages do not all read emails in the same way; for example, what may appear to be clear and concise on a sender’s desktop may in fact be received in a very different way on another desktop.  Alignment can be different, line breaks can occur in different places and extraneous coding text can be visible.

The attention to detail in presentation and proofing of an email message makes the message more legible. As these are, in most part, official documents, it is desirable for them to have a professional appearance.  When sending emails to the lists it is important that:

• The information contained in the message is sent to the right people; and
• It arrives on their desktop machine in a legible form.

The following tips and techniques are based on advice provided by the Division of Information and will help ensure that any emails posted to the lists convey their messages accurately and reach as wide an audience as possible.

Formatting

To create a message that can be sent across platforms and read by different software:

• Do not including any formatting in the email message. (ie bolding, italics, centering). This is also called ‘styled text’. In some email clients Options can be set to warn the user they are about to send styled text.  Messages sent with styled text will appear on some machines with formatting instructions such as: etc. See below for further information about formatting in email messages.
• Use word wrap.  If you have an email package that allows you to choose ‘word wrap’ as an option, ensure that it is selected so lines wrap automatically.  While the message is being drafted it may look good on the drafter’s screen, but, because of the type of email software in use at the recipient’s location, it may look very different on the recipient’s screen. 
• Do not use tables.  These will not format well.
• Separate information with spaces rather than tabs.
• Do not append an attachment to the message.  This results in the distribution of multiple copies of the same document – there are more efficient means of disseminating information to a wide audience.  For example, publish the information to the web and send the URL in your email message.
• If the message needs to include formatting to get the message across, it is far better to put that information into a web document and provide the URL in your email message.
• When using URLs in your email message, test the message first to ensure that the link works.  This can be done by sending the email to yourself before sending it to the list.

If the text of the message is copied from a word-processed document where formatting has been used, there are a number of things to be considered:

• It is essential that text copied into a message has no formatting.
• Do not include any crests or graphics.
• Do not include headers or footers from a document.   Do not include tables, bullets, line breaks etc.
• Saving the file in Text Only does not solve all potential problems. Certain features will need to be replaced i.e. bullets by asterisks.
• Information in table format, when copied to the mail message, will need to be adjusted to present well.

If the text of a message is sent to you to post to an email list, cut and paste the text of the message into a new message. Do not use Forward or Redirect as this will change the formatting.

To create a message that accurately conveys who it is intended for and from whom it has been sent:

• Switch any default signature off if the drafter is NOT the author of the message.
• Choose the appropriate lists of officers who need to receive your message.
• Type a relevant subject heading bearing in mind these messages are archived. A previous message can be retrieved more easily if the content of the subject heading is appropriate.

Replies to messages

If replies are expected to a message it must be made as clear as possible where the reply is to be sent and the date by which the replies are expected.  This is most important as the author and the person posting to the list is not necessarily the same person and respondents have a tendency to hit the reply command, thus replying to the person who posted the message rather than replying to the author of the message.

Error condition messages

Those of you who have been given authority to post to the Administrative lists will occasionally receive Error condition messages as a result of a message you have sent.  The following are some errors you can expect:

• An error in a subscriber’s address.
• An unauthorised action eg attempted amendment to the list.
• The message exceeds the limit set on the message size for the list.

The person posting to the list and the owner of the list will receive an error condition message. The nature of the error will depend on whose responsibility it is to fix.

Sending Messages on behalf of your area

When receiving a message from within your area to post to the list, it is your responsibility to check with the Authority that it meets the criteria for content. You will need to check presentation and ‘formatting’ requirements meet the email list rules.

Cut and paste the text of the message into a new message. Do not use Forward or Redirect.

Message Subject Heading

The message subject heading is immediately visible when the message reaches its recipients.  The subject heading should therefore be used to accurately reflect the message content (also important for archiving) and can also be used to further filter the intended recipients if they are a subset of the list category.  For example, Attn Academic Supervisors could be included in the subject heading if the message going to the Staff Supervisor list is only relevant to this group of supervisors.

Message Content

Messages should:

• Be related to the work of the University;
• Be authorised by an appropriate officer whose name appears in the header and footer;
• Not contain commercial advertising material;
• Be concise. Lengthy material should be published on the web and linked from the email message; and
• Not solicit responses directly to the list – but to a contact officer clearly nominated.

For further information contact:
HR Business Solutions, phone: 6125 9622, e-mail: hrbusinesssolutions@anu.edu.au