What are your top ten tips for email use?

10. Be careful when opening email from an unknown sender. The message could be spam or could contain a virus.

9. Use subject lines that are indicative of the content of your message and that the person who receives the email can use to retrieve it.

8. Use university-sponsored email systems sparingly to send or receive personal email. Use discretion when mixing personal and work-related messages.

7. Take time to compose a thoughtful response before sending an email. Proofread your email for spelling errors, grammar, and punctuation before sending it.

6. When sensitive issues need to be discussed, face-to-face conversation or a telephone call may be a better communication choice than email. Remember that the security of your email cannot be ensured. .

5. Do not put anything in an email message that you would not want to see printed in tomorrow's newspaper or displayed on a bulletin board.

4. Manage email based on its content, not space quotas. Retain and dispose of email messages according to established records retention guidelines.

3. Everyone receives email that may pose personal or institutional risks. These emails should be removed from the email system as soon as possible and according to law.

2. For most people, much of the email that they receive is not too important, but everyone receives a small percentage that is. You should take special care with these important emails to make sure that they are secure, retrievable, and preserved over time.

1. Email does not manage itself. Be a proactive manager of your inbox and manage your messages in a way that is most effective for you. This may involve filing significant messages or a combination of filing in folders and using the inbox to store messages. See the Management FAQs for more suggestions.

Where can I receive training on using my email software?

You can get basic training from coworkers or from email system administrators or support staff.

At Duke: The office for Learning and Organizational Development offers courses in basic Lotus Notes use. See http://www.hr.duke.edu/train/technology.htm for course and registration information.

At UNC: For training see: http://www.unc.edu/atn/training. For help on specific software, basic information is available at help.unc.edu.

Where can I learn more about records management?

At Duke: Visit the Records Management Program's website at http://www.lib.duke.edu/archives/rm/ or call 919-684-6181.

At UNC: Visit http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/uars/index.html or call 919-962-6402.