Email etiquette:
1. Delete the Parts of the Original that are not specific to your reply;
2. Insert Your Reply into the Abridged original message (especially if you are responding to specific points) or write your reply ahead of the original;
3. Change The Subject Line if you are responding to something other than the message’s main point.
Why bother doing this? Because replies that include more original text than necessary are lesslikely to be read. If you want your reply to be read, be kind to your readers.
Most email systems are set up so that the original message is copied into the reply with each line preceded by a decrescendo mark. That makes the original easy to spot but can create an extremely long message, especially if several layers are included.
Many group members receive the “digest”, (a collection of many messages sent at one time), rather than each email individually – and weeding out the new material from the old can be tiring. So, your reply might get lost in the shuffle if you include the entire original message.
How to do these things?
To Delete the Parts that are not specific to your reply:Highlight them (drag your mouse over them) and Delete them. If it’s a long section or you have trouble highlighting by dragging,click on the beginning of the section you want to delete and then clickon the end of the section, while holding the Shift key.That will select everything in between, and then you can Delete it.
To Insert your Text Between lines of the original:Click where you want to insert your reply, and hit the Enter key to add a new line.Adding a blank line on either side of your reply will make it stand out even more.
To Change the Subject Line: Click at the beginning of the Subject field and type the new Subject title.
Put parentheses around the original Subject and replace Re: with Was:, so readers have some idea of the email that sparked your reply, e.g., (Was: Email Etiquette).
Happy Posting!