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Email
Security/Etiquette
Like any other privilege,
access to electronic mail comes with certain responsibilities. Here are
some simple rules to help you with your email policies.
Email Security
Security may not seem important to you.
You might think "It's only email, why should I care?" But
remember, your password is like your signature on everything that's done
from your account. Don't leave yourself open to abuse by others. Check out
the following report from the recent press:
RACIST E-MAIL SPARKS THREATS: A Texas
A&M professor received numerous death threats after his e-mail
account was broken into and used to distribute a racist message to about
20,000 computer users in Mississippi, Wisconsin, Colorado and Texas.
"It's kind of the digital equivalent of a drive-by shooting,"
said the professor. (Atlanta Journal Constitution 10/19/94 A14)
The bottom line is that SECURITY
IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT. Don't share your password with anyone.
Change your password if you think someone else might know it. Always
logout when you are finished using the system. Your password is the only
thing protecting you from pranks or more serious harm. These are good
rules to follow when using any computer system, not just email.
Email Etiquette
- SPECIFY A SUBJECT FOR EACH
MESSAGE. Use descriptive subject titles like "Study
Group at 4PM" or "Apartment Available." Don't force
your recipients to guess why you are sending them a message.
- Be brief. Add blank lines and other
formatting so the structure of your message is clear.
- Do not use attachments unless you know
your recipient's system is able to decode them. Many systems will not
handle attached documents correctly. It is often much better to cut
and paste text from a word processor directly into the body of your
message. This ensures that it will be readable when it reaches its
destination.
- SIGN YOUR MESSAGES
with your name and your return email address if you expect a reply.
Many systems cannot handle automatic return addresses. This is
especially important when sending email from a public workstation or
World Wide Web browser such as Netscape.
- THINK BEFORE YOU SEND EMAIL TO
MORE THAN ONE PERSON. Do the additional people really want or
need to see this message? Will everyone know the context for this
message? If you can't answer "yes" to these questions you
probably shouldn't send it to the larger group. Other people are
seldom interested in email "chat" between two parties. Never
send personal email to a mailing list such as "All First Year
Students."
- Be careful when you reply to email
from a mailing list. If you really intend to respond to the PERSON
who wrote the original message, use a PERSONAL
address. You may need to go to an address book and look it up if the
reply has been automatically addressed to the list.
- When you quote a message from someone
else, be sure it is clear who said what and when. Be especially
careful when you forward an entire message. Will the recipient
understand why you are sending it? Did the original author intend for
the information to be passed on? If in doubt, ask!
- BE CAREFUL WITH PERSONAL
INFORMATION and what you say about others. Remember that once
you send a message you cannot control who will ultimately read it. If
you are quoted out of context, someone may become offended or angry
even though this is not what you intended.
- Be careful with humor and sarcasm.
Some jokes fall short in the absence of facial expression and tone of
voice. Humorous remarks may be taken seriously when they are quoted
out of context.
- DO NOT SEND CONFIDENTIAL
PATIENT INFORMATION VIA EMAIL unless it is encrypted. Email
is copied, archived, and retransmitted continuously as part of normal
processing. Plain text messages might be read by someone along the
way. Do not place your patients' confidentiality at risk.
Edited on September 10, 1995 / Updated on
September 10, 1995
Richard
Rathe, MD / rrathe@ufl.edu
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