There are rules governing socially acceptable behavior. Unfortunately, not everyone follows the same set of rules. In some places, fighting is acceptable, in other places, shouting is expected, and in other places everyone is courteous and polite and cares about the other person.

It is clear that being a competent professional is only one of the fundamentals leading to success. More and more, practicing socially acceptable behavior complements and enhances all business, technology and accounting skills.

The uncivil discourse in this world can void a lot of the good that one does. Just because I grew up in New York does not require me to retain the incivility and in your face style that was prevalent during my formative years. Letting go of that style has been a good thing. I did not forget how, I just make a conscious choice of trying to be polite. That desire to be civil throughout any online interaction should be a standard operating methodology for all. 

It has been well documented that when face-to-face, communicating includes body language, hand gestures, tone of voice along with our words. Online is different. On the Internet, without video, communications lacks the added features of hands, face, eyes and tone. We can hide in the darkness that is cyberspace. Without personal introductions, courtesy can take a little longer to take hold. The adolescent in all of us asks:      

• Do I have to be nice?
• Do I have to be polite?

The simple answer is “no”, one does not have to be nice or polite. But, it is the smart thing to do. Especially for professionals who are promoting relationships with clients, with employees, with the community and with each other.

In public any hand gesture, mouth shape change, raised eyebrow, pulling hair can certainly lead to demonstration of emotion – polite or impolite. Being polite adds value to what we do. Whether it is email, blogging, websites or any online interaction, polite is a plus.  Here are a my guidelines for online communication. Remember that practice improves:

1. Short and concise is best. Avoid bloated messages – too many subjects, too many descriptive sidebars, too many illustrations.
2. Use a short, but accurate, subject description. Never leave the subject line blank, it’s rude and causes many filters to flag the message as spam. 
3. Be complete. Read the email before sending to determine if something is missing, misspelled, or misleading.
4. Use shorthand, abbreviations and icons sparingly. After all, even the initials, CPA, can be misread. (Cessna Pilots Association, for one).
5. Make sure jargon will be understood by receiver.
6. Don't overuse all capital letters. That is shouting and is not always understood.
7. Don't whisper by using small fonts, faded colors or all lower case letters.
8. Don’t use page backgrounds or colors. They’re bandwidth suckers and they don’t display properly on your many monitors.
9. Acknowledge emails received – silence leads to misunderstanding or delays good discourse. Simple “got it” or “thank you” often works. Other times you need to say more.
10. Be polite when responding – do not criticize someone’s unintentional typing mistakes.
11. Polite means appropriate salutations and including a signature with appropriate contact information.
12. Be careful when sending large attachments that can overload inboxes.
13. Mass emails should have everyone’s email address in the bcc: field not the To: or Cc:
14. If you use “Reply All” make sure you really mean to reply to all. Will “all” appreciate your reply? 
15. When forwarding emails include a short explanation as to why.
16. Do not forward every joke, cartoon, spiritual message, political commentary received. Spam is wrong whoever sends it.
17. Allow people to say no thank you and exit your “distribution list”

There is a value add when accountants and other professionals act and communicate politely. First, everyone we deal with deserves politeness. Second, professionals need to set the example and be the role model for training others – staff, clients, friends, family, etc. Our communities are growing more and more separated from face to face communication. Without pictures, we may even lose the memory of the face of a friend or associate.

The need for politeness and etiquette is essential. Adding to our bottom line has to include making it a priority to learn about and practice “Netiquette.” The value proposition is that all online interactions need to be civil. It is good for business and good for keeping connections connected.