ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

E-MAIL
Electronic Mail or e-mail is correspondence over a computer network, delivering a message from the writers computer to the readers computer. Advantages and Disadvantages of E-mail 1. E-mail is quicker than conventional mail. 2. It is a less expensive medium for correspondence. 3. It may risky in that you might fail to be as careful in choosing your words and phrases. 4. People think of it as less important or official. 5. It isnt necessarily as quick as oral conversation.

E-Mail vs Other Media

First, consider the conventions of your organization. Second, consider the ethics of using each communication medium relative to your purpose and audience Third, consider the relative efficiency or practicality of each communication medium.

* Face to face meetings

* Telephone * Letters and Memos * Fax

E-Mail Etiquette
1. Be polite.
2. Never write a message that you wouldnt want others to see. 3. Respect the privacy of e-mail messages

4. Keep your messages brief.

5. Answer your e-mail promptly, especially requests for information.

6. Keep your paragraph short.

7. Edit and proofread carefully.

Electronic Discussion Lists

are groups of people with a common interest or affiliation, such as employee of a company or members of s professional association, who communicate with one another by e-mail.

Discussion List Etiquette

1. Once you join a list, observe the discussion for a while before you start to contribute to it. 2. If the list offers archives of previous messages or FAQs, review this material.

3. Dont engage in flaming on the list.

4. Dont write to the list to correct a contributors spelling or grammatical errors. 5. Learn the acronyms that are often used.

6. If you decide to quit a list, remember to mail your unsubscribe command.

Synchronous Discussion Groups

Discussion List Etiquette 1.Dont monopolize the conversation.

2.Pay attention to other contributors, especially those just entering the conversation.
3.Keep your participation interactive by switching often from writing to reading and vice versa.

WORLD WIDE WEB SITES

- is a collection of interconnected documents stored on computers all over the world.

Navigating the World Wide Web 1. 2. 3. Check the GO menu item. Use the BACK and FORWARD buttons. Use the BOOKMARK or FAVORITES function.

4.

Open multiple windows.

Creating a World Wide Web Site 1. Explore and experiment.

2.
3. 4. 5. 6.

Strive for a consistent design for all pages at your site.

Make your site inviting but simple. Focus your efforts on the home page. Be sensitive to the cultural differences of your international audience. Give your visitors opportunities to interact with your pages.

Common Practices in Designing Web Sites 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Display a complete menu of links at the top and bottom of each page. Avoid excessive links in the running text. Include identifying information on each page. Choose a light, solid color for the background. Adjust the length of your pages to your info. Keep illustrations small. Restrict animation to video or audio video clips that the visitor specifically clicks on to view. Use only two levels of heading. Minimize your use of italics. Use bold type selectively and consistently. Edit and proofread carefully. Check the design of your site using a variety of computers and monitors. Check the design of your page using variations of typography.

DOCUMENT DESIGN
Understanding the Basics of Document Design
Know what decisions you can make

Choose a design that fits your situation.

Plan your design from the beginning. Reveal your design to your readers. Keep your design consistent.

Designing Effective Pages and Screen

Design on a Grid.
Leave ample margins

The Need for Continuing Evaluation

Recommendation
Pacific Bell should regularly evaluate its inserts.

Action Steps
1. The insert production team should meet after the bill inserts are completed to evaluate how the process worked. As Pacific Bell begins to rewrite customer instruction material.. Pacific Bell, should reconvene Consumer Advisory..

2. 3.

Observations
The companys support of Consumer Advisory Council IX indicates that management recognizes problem.

1 inch

1 inch

1 inch Use blank space to group information

1 inch

Set the spacing for easy reading.

Use a medium line length Use a ragged right margin

Choosing Readable Type

Choose a legible type size
This is 8-point type.

This is 10-point type.

This is 12-point type.

This is 14-point type.

This is 18-point type.

This is 24-point type

This is 36-point type.

Choose a font that is appropriate for the situation.

Serifs

T No Serifs

Use special typefaces sparingly.

Choosing Readable Type

Use highlighting effectively.
boldface italics underlining changing the color placing information in a box setting rules above and below the material
*dont use too many techniques. *be consistent in the way you use each technique.

*match the highlighting to the importance of the information.

*dont use any technique for more than a short sentence.

Choosing Readable Type

Use a mixture of cases, not all CAPITALS.
Use color carefully.

Helping Readers Locate Information

Write useful headings. *make the headings meaningful.

*use questions, verb phrases, and sentences instead of nouns only.

*use standard key words if readers expect them. *make the headings at a given level parallel. *make sure the headings match the table of contents.

Simple emphasis. some technical texts use bold for simple emphasis instead of the traditional italics. For example, "Do not turn off the computer before shutting it down." Headings. headings use bold in addition to other typographical effects such as different fonts, large type sizes, italics, and even color. Commands. Computer texts commonly use bold for commands, for example, "Use the move command to rename UNIX files." Buttons that initiate commands. In a graphical user interface, some of the buttons initiate commands. For example, "press the Exit button to exit the application." Field labels. it is not general practice because it leads to highlighting overkill. For example, "In the Indentation area of the dialog box, click on Left." More common is to use the cap style used on the screen. It's preferable to write this: "In the Indentation area of the dialog box, click on Left."

Keyboard or mouse buttons. Another highlighting technique not commonly in practice is to bold the name of a keyboard key or mouse button. For example, "Press the Q key or the left mouse button." Information that readers supply. For example, "Type guest and press the Enter key." (The section on common highlighting schemes for computer text points out that an alternate font, typically Courier, is used for text that readers must type in: "Type guest and press the Enter key.") Information displayed on the equipment or screen. for example, "The system will then display Do you want to continue? another example, "As the computer boots up, the digital read-out window will display 8888." (Again, computer text commonly uses an alternate font such as Courier for system-displayed text.) Labels on hardware. Another practice that is not particularly common in computer publishing is to bold the name of a hardware label. For example, "Press the Reset button to reboot the computer." Lead-in labels in list items. When you have a long list of bulleted or numbered items, a nice touch is to create a lead-in labels for each item and either bold or italicize it.

Labels on special notices. special notices are the best technique for emphasizing extended text. If you have a sentence or short paragraph you want to emphasize, don't make it all bold---use a special notice instead. With special notices, typically only the Danger, Warning, Caution, Important, or Note label is bolded. Definitions in definition (two-column) lists. In a two-column list in which the terms to be defined are in the left column and the definitions of those terms are in the right column, it's common for the terms to be bolded. Labels in figures. It's fairly common for labels used within figures to be bolded: for example, the label On/Off switch would be bold with an arrow leading to the part of
the figure depicting that switch.

Table or figure titles. It's quite standard for the titles of tables and figures to be bold.

Column headings in tables. Standard too is to bold table column headings. For example, if you had a table that compared automobile costs over a five-year period, the first column "Automobiles" would be bold. The column headings for each of the five years, for example, "1995," would also be bold. (Row headings are also bolded under certain conditions.

Italics. Here are some of the standard uses for italics:

Simple emphasis. usage is mixed on whether to use bold or italics for simple emphasis, although italics has been traditional: for example, "Do not turn off the computer before shutting it down." Variables. In computer publishing, one of the most common uses of italics is for variables. For example: copy oldfile newfile Users know not to type oldfile or newfile but to substitute their own file
names instead.

Table titles; row and column headings. Some table styles use italics instead of bold for table titles, row and column headings, or both. For some document designers, the look is cleaner, smoother, cooler to the eye.

Special-notice labels. The "note" special notice uses italics for the label "Note:" Warning, caution, and danger notices use varying styles of bold Figure titles and labels. as opposed to bold. The choice is arbitrary, although italics is cooler and less busy to the eye. List lead-in headings. when you have a long list of bulleted or numbered items, a nice touch is to create a lead-in labels for each item and either bold or italicize it. Headings. In headings, italics is often used in combination with other effects such as bold, larger type sizes, or alternate fonts. Definitions in definition (two-column) lists. While bold is more common for the items in the left column of a twocolumn list, italics is also used.

Here are some typical guidelines for capitalization: Use the exact capitalization style of messages shown on the computer screen, menu or screen names, field names, hardware labels, and so on. Do not use capital letters for emphasis; use italics or bold instead. Do not use all-caps for any extended text; use the special-notice format instead. Do not capitalize the names of the components or processes of a product. Capitalize only the names of products, that is, components that are separately orderable.

Single or double quotation marks. Limit quotation marks to the traditional usage, which includes quoted speech; numbers, letters, or words referred to as such. Quotation marks, like capital letters, tend to create a busy, distracting text and therefore should be avoided. One of the primary reasons is that some readers might mistakenly assume that they must include the quotation marks in the commands they enter.

Instead of Use the "move" command.

Write Use the move command. Instead of Enter "copy install installnow." Write Enter copy install installnow

Note. Use the following format for simple notes: 1.Type the word "Note" followed by a colon. (Underline the word, or use bold if you have it.) 2.Begin typing the text of the note two spaces after the colon. (But don't put the text of the note in bold.) 3.Single space within the text of the note; skip two lines above and below the note. 4.Start run-over lines on the regular left margin. 5.Align the note with the text to which it refers

Warning. Use the following format for warnings: 1.Type the word "Warning," follow with a colon, italicize. 2.Tab to begin the text of the warning. (Try for 0.25 to 0.5 inches of space between the end of the warning label and the beginning of the text.) 3.Use regular body font for the text of the warning notice (no bold, no italics, no all-caps, no color). 4.Align the warning notice with the text it refers to. 5.Single space the text of the notice notice; skip two lines above and below the caution notice.

Caution. Use the following format for caution notices: 1.Type the word "Caution" follow it with a colon, and bold both the label and the colon. 2.Skip two lines and begin the text of the caution aligned with the start of the caution label. 3.Single space the text of the caution; skip two lines above and below the notice. 4.Align the caution notice with the text it refers to (see Figure 6-2 where a note occurs within a bulleted list).

Danger. Use the following format for danger notices: 1.Type the word "DANGER" in all-caps. (Underline it, or use bold.) 2.Align the danger notice with the text it refers to. 3.Singlespace the text of the danger notice; skip two lines above and below the danger notice. 4.Use bold on the text of the danger notice if you have it (but never all-caps). 5.If you have graphics capability, draw a box around the danger notice (including the label).