Writing Hints for E-mails .

E-mail address' are also called Email Addies. E-mail is getting to be a more difficult due to individuals and ISPs tightening up with SPAM filters. As I try to answer every e-mail I receive, I am getting my answers bounced because of such a simple thing as a link included in the original letter. The culprit can be an IP address verses a URL. Such providers as, AOL, bounce those because they are associated with phishing and pharming messages. You all have received such e-mails as "You are a WINNER" and "We need you to update your ....".

Please use some simple rules if you wish folks to answer your request or query.

First contacts to an individual should have a good subject line. The message needs to be short and simple text, without any links. This includes those you might have in your signature. Spam filters look for these things.

Should you have your spam filter set so folks have to be approved by you, please, be sure that when you send a request or query which you want answered, that you add that person's address to you "accept" list. This has become irritating to receive returned messages of answers.

For protecting you from phishing and pharming invasive spiders, I am converting your e-mail address I use on various web pages to look authentic but they too must be copied into the "To:" line of any messages you "harvest" and send e-mail.

Rarely do folks send me new addies when they change their address'. Thus, when my "broken links" program indicates that your addy no longer functions, two things will happen. One; a short "test" note will be sent to verify a broken link. The "Subject:" line will be "No need to answer; test message." The body of the message will explain that the address is bouncing and include what page [URL] your address is located on. Two; if I get no "bounce" I will assume it to be a valid addy. If it does bounce, I will delink the addy from my pages. One may always, upon discovering I've taken that action, write to me giving me a new valid addy to be added to the site(s).

As this page is getting rather long, I will end here stating that there are other helpful suggestion pages for writing and sending such things as queries and requests for information.