Nothing seems to be left untouched by the pandemic, including emails. Standard salutations such as ‘best wishes’ or ‘regards’ were replaced by more personalised and sympathetic ones like ‘Stay indoors and safe’, ‘Sincerely in these strange times’ or, to infuse some humour, ‘Sent from my living room’. The point is the general tenor of emails has become more considerate and genuine, especially considering how our tech-dependency has surged sizeably.
This opens up a discussion on internet behaviour or what is now being called ‘netiquette’. A portmanteau of internet and etiquette, it is a collection of guidelines to maintain a comfortable and efficient online environment. Netiquette, like traditional etiquette, works differently in different social scenarios. But overarching ideas such as ‘be kind’ or ‘respect all people’ remains the same. This article gives you a list of fundamental netiquette norms that are worth internalising, especially when online meetings are the order of the day.
