15 ms·

I think it very much depends on who you are, different people will have different reactions. Personally, although I use smileys in Skype/SMS/etc. (a lot), if an

by corin_ 15y ago

I think it very much depends on who you are, different people will have different reactions. Personally, although I use smileys in Skype/SMS/etc. (a lot), if anyone uses them in an email, business related in particular, I get pissed off. I don't know why that's my reaction for email from friends, but when it comes to work stuff: we're talking in a professional manner, so act professionally please. (Again, that's an instruction based on my personal feeling, I'm not suggesting everyone ought to think like that.) But yes, I do agree with being friendly - as long as it's authentic, not sickeningly fake and over-the-top, it will almost always be an improvement.

toumhi 15y ago
act professionally != being dull I don't see what's unprofessional in using smileys and an enthusiastic tone, to me it sounds better that way instead of sounding dull and stiff.
- corin_ 15y ago
  Like I say, I'm not saying it is the definitive way to behave, simply that it's how I think of it - purely an emotional opinion. But I do know plenty of other people who feel the same way.
- BrandonM 15y ago
  I agree. That's like saying one shouldn't smile at work.
  - corin_ 15y ago
    Face-to-face and email is very different in terms of behaviour - or at least it is for some people. In my office swearing is fine, we all do it, and we have plenty of clients in front of whom I would be fine swearing, and they will swear too (obviously not at each other, just in general). Swearing in an email or a letter though, totally unacceptable. Perhaps a better example of the differences is just that, if you meet with a client, even one you don't know well, you don't end with "kind regards" or "yours sincerely". The fact that you do (or at least, might well) in an email/letter doesn't really signify a difference in what you are trying to convey, purely a difference in convention. I have no problem using humour in an email or a letter, that's fine. I guess maybe the reason smileys feel inappropriate is because they are so associated with children. Sure, adults use them, but they started among young people, and they will forever (I think, but at least still today) remain more popular among younger age groups. When chatting through IM software it feels fine to throw off adulthood, when talking to friends I might sometimes open with something I'd be far too embarassed to actually say in real life, such as "waddup bitch". Email, for me, is a high-tech version of the letter, not a high-tech version of face-to-face.
    - SoftwareMaven 15y ago
      For the record, they didn't start among young people. Emoticons were in use on the Internet before I got online in 1990. Kids ran with them because they want people to know what they are feeling and the feeling they are trying to portray, which can be nearly impossible to do in reasonably succinct writing. An occasional emoticon can be useful, but it is easy to over do it. If I see five, I think "immature". If i see one, I don't think anything.
lhnz 15y ago
I use smileys in a professional setting, but not on first contact. You can relax the strict business tone when you are on a more personal level with somebody. I would say that if your email was extremely concise and could have been seen as rude, a smiley can make it seem like you're not being an asshole. Either way, you should always make sure your emails are friendly and to the point.
- corin_ 15y ago
  For me the style of writing as I become more familiar with somebody goes like this: - Initial contact, "Dear ..", "Kind Regards," - Slightly looser, "Hi ...", "Many thanks," or "Yours," - Pretty friendly "Name," or "Hey name,", "Thanks" "Cheers" etc - Very friendly, no mention of their name at the start, signing with just "Corin" or "C" And it depends on who it is as to what stage it gets to. Generally the people I talk to either reciprocate following a similar structure, or they follow that structure before I do, leaving me to reciprocate.
  - Xurinos 15y ago
    I match what the other does to me. That said, I am a little annoyed with the concepts of greeting and signature within an email. Thanks to the "From:" and "To:" headers, this is redundant data. A lot of people write emails as if they were writing snail mail. Yet, simultaneously, those greetings and signatures do sometimes convey a certain formality because of my experience with snail mail; depending on my mood, I will either chuckle at the "Dear Sir" or read the contents in a more businesslike tone. I wonder if these parts of the writing structure will fall out of fashion in another 50 years.
    - jeangenie 15y ago
      the address on a letter isn't a substitute for a salutation; I typically start with a simple "Hi" or "Hello."
    - tricolon 15y ago
      I disagree. The salutation sets the tone of the body. Just by reading "Dear Sir", I know that the body will probably be impersonal, yet polite. If I see "[Name]," I know the body will be professional and to-the-point. "Hi [Name]" sets a friendly tone, often followed by a request. If I do not see a salutation, odds are that the body was written in haste (or in reply to an existing thread).
sjs 15y ago
It depends a lot on the person or company I'm contacting and why I'm contacting them. When contacting support I'll usually try to make it friendly and a bit fun. I keep in mind there will be a person reading it who may frequently have to read and respond to frustrated or angry people, so if I can spend an extra 10 seconds to write something I think might make them smile I'll do it. And I try to use their name in any replies I write. That's a basic courtesy you should extend to anyone in any medium.

by corin_ 15y ago

toumhi 15y ago

act professionally != being dull I don't see what's unprofessional in using smileys and an enthusiastic tone, to me it sounds better that way instead of sounding dull and stiff.

corin_ 15y ago
Like I say, I'm not saying it is the definitive way to behave, simply that it's how I think of it - purely an emotional opinion. But I do know plenty of other people who feel the same way.
BrandonM 15y ago
I agree. That's like saying one shouldn't smile at work.
- corin_ 15y ago
  Face-to-face and email is very different in terms of behaviour - or at least it is for some people. In my office swearing is fine, we all do it, and we have plenty of clients in front of whom I would be fine swearing, and they will swear too (obviously not at each other, just in general). Swearing in an email or a letter though, totally unacceptable. Perhaps a better example of the differences is just that, if you meet with a client, even one you don't know well, you don't end with "kind regards" or "yours sincerely". The fact that you do (or at least, might well) in an email/letter doesn't really signify a difference in what you are trying to convey, purely a difference in convention. I have no problem using humour in an email or a letter, that's fine. I guess maybe the reason smileys feel inappropriate is because they are so associated with children. Sure, adults use them, but they started among young people, and they will forever (I think, but at least still today) remain more popular among younger age groups. When chatting through IM software it feels fine to throw off adulthood, when talking to friends I might sometimes open with something I'd be far too embarassed to actually say in real life, such as "waddup bitch". Email, for me, is a high-tech version of the letter, not a high-tech version of face-to-face.
  - SoftwareMaven 15y ago
    For the record, they didn't start among young people. Emoticons were in use on the Internet before I got online in 1990. Kids ran with them because they want people to know what they are feeling and the feeling they are trying to portray, which can be nearly impossible to do in reasonably succinct writing. An occasional emoticon can be useful, but it is easy to over do it. If I see five, I think "immature". If i see one, I don't think anything.

lhnz 15y ago

I use smileys in a professional setting, but not on first contact. You can relax the strict business tone when you are on a more personal level with somebody. I would say that if your email was extremely concise and could have been seen as rude, a smiley can make it seem like you're not being an asshole. Either way, you should always make sure your emails are friendly and to the point.

corin_ 15y ago
For me the style of writing as I become more familiar with somebody goes like this: - Initial contact, "Dear ..", "Kind Regards," - Slightly looser, "Hi ...", "Many thanks," or "Yours," - Pretty friendly "Name," or "Hey name,", "Thanks" "Cheers" etc - Very friendly, no mention of their name at the start, signing with just "Corin" or "C" And it depends on who it is as to what stage it gets to. Generally the people I talk to either reciprocate following a similar structure, or they follow that structure before I do, leaving me to reciprocate.
- Xurinos 15y ago
  I match what the other does to me. That said, I am a little annoyed with the concepts of greeting and signature within an email. Thanks to the "From:" and "To:" headers, this is redundant data. A lot of people write emails as if they were writing snail mail. Yet, simultaneously, those greetings and signatures do sometimes convey a certain formality because of my experience with snail mail; depending on my mood, I will either chuckle at the "Dear Sir" or read the contents in a more businesslike tone. I wonder if these parts of the writing structure will fall out of fashion in another 50 years.
  - jeangenie 15y ago
    the address on a letter isn't a substitute for a salutation; I typically start with a simple "Hi" or "Hello."
  - tricolon 15y ago
    I disagree. The salutation sets the tone of the body. Just by reading "Dear Sir", I know that the body will probably be impersonal, yet polite. If I see "[Name]," I know the body will be professional and to-the-point. "Hi [Name]" sets a friendly tone, often followed by a request. If I do not see a salutation, odds are that the body was written in haste (or in reply to an existing thread).

sjs 15y ago

It depends a lot on the person or company I'm contacting and why I'm contacting them. When contacting support I'll usually try to make it friendly and a bit fun. I keep in mind there will be a person reading it who may frequently have to read and respond to frustrated or angry people, so if I can spend an extra 10 seconds to write something I think might make them smile I'll do it. And I try to use their name in any replies I write. That's a basic courtesy you should extend to anyone in any medium.