Despite the availability of video at the high end, and texting at the low end, e-mail remains the most common form of one-to-one Internet-based communication, particularly in business settings.

You might think that it's old hat by now. E-mail has been around, believe it or not, since 1961, before the Internet was a gleam in the eyes of the technocrats at the U.S. Defense Department. You might also think that using e-mail is child's play.

But there are subtleties to all this e-mail business, and ways of looking good and not so good.

A lot of people let down their hair when firing off an e-mail message, being far more informal than in reports or even memos. E-mail has a conversational feel to it, a cross between a chatty phone conversation and a formal business letter.

It's generally OK to follow the tone dictated by the internal culture where you work, or play. If people don't capitalize the first letter of sentences or pay attention to spelling, don't sweat trying to dot all your i's and cross all your t's.

But don't make the mistake of using the same informal tone with those outside your organization unless you're sure it wouldn't be misinterpreted. A lot of people get off on the wrong foot by addressing people they've never met by their first name and writing as if they never made it out of grade school.

The purpose of e-mail, like all writing, is to communicate. If you overemphasize speed at the expense of correctness, you'll make your recipient spend needless time trying to decipher what you're trying to say.

Think through all aspects of an e-mail communication, starting with the salutation. Beginning an e-mail message by using the quaint letter-writing convention of "Dear" can make you look outmoded. "Hello, Mr. Jones," when being formal, or "Hi, Sam," when being informal, looks better than either "Dear" or not using any salutation at all.

It's also generally OK to follow whatever convention is common in your organization in deciding whether or how you quote someone's words when replying to that person's e-mail. But it's generally best to place your own words in some kind of context. If you don't use the automatic quoting feature offered by all modern e-mail programs, you should still remind your correspondent of any previous discussion and summarize the subject matter.

If you do use your e-mail program's automatic quoting feature, it's generally best to quote a relevant snippet of a message and place it in front of your response, quote multiple snippets and respond directly under each if you're responding to multiple points, and avoid quoting the entirety of a long message at the beginning of yours. Quoting your recipient's previous e-mail at the end of yours just records it without facilitating speed or convenience.

Gauge the e-mail experience of whomever you're communicating with in considering whether to use acronyms such as IMHO, which is short for "in my humble opinion," and "emoticons" such as , which is short for "grin" and signals you're trying to be friendly or tell a joke.

Match the length of your response to how eager you are to converse. A short, polite response indicates you've received the other person's message but need to move on. A longer, thoughtful response indicates a willingness to engage.

You have more options with e-mail closings than with openings. If you're making a request or filing a complaint, "Thank you" works well. "Best" is a good all-around closing. Some letter closings also work well with e-mail, including "Sincerely" and "Regards."

Some people choose to dispense with closings as they dispense with salutations, but both are quick nods to politeness or friendliness. At the very least, close with your name or

Reid Goldsborough  |  Contributing Writer