The Art of Good Threadiquette

In today's technologically-advanced world, more and more communication takes place over email. And why not? Typing a few words on a keyboard and hitting send is easier, cheaper, and faster than composing a letter on paper, stuffing it into an envelope, putting a stamp on it, and dropping it in the mailbox. And I'm not just talking about business-related exchanges between two people sitting at their desks in their respective offices - with the advent of smartphones, more and more people have access to email at all times. And when sending an email has the same basic structure as sending a text message, you can bet there will be some residual decline in the class and reputation of the medium.

Seeing as how easy it is to compose a message, type in a recipient's email address, and hit "send," it's easy to overlook some of the more old-fashioned polite aspects of letter-writing. Remember when we spent hours learning in which situations to use "Dear Sir or Madam" or "To Whom It May Concern"? Or how to correctly format your return address in the letterhead? In emails, the only formality left is a pre-fabricated signature, if that. Yet emails are certainly less clear and direct than a conversation on the telephone or in person. They occupy an awkward middle ground.

So what is the proper way to comport ourselves in an email thread? Should we treat them like correspondence, with the proper salutations and formatting? Or should we approach them as we approach text messages, as an extension of a casual conversation? As always, it depends on the situation, but here are a few things I've learned about Proper Email Threadiquette.

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