Whether at work or home, following e-mail etiquette and its do's and don'ts is easy. These days we may get 15 legitimate e-mails and 50 pieces of SPAM. To make sure your e-mails are not caught up in the SPAM trap be careful what you put in your subject line.

No matter how exciting your news is, if you put something like "This is So HOT!" or "I got this FREE" or even "Look at this Hunk" chances are your e-mail will not reach your friend.

__Don't send forwards with a long list of e-mail addresses. If you must send a forward that you feel is important, copy and paste it to send. Going through a long list of names to get to a message is annoying and it is an open invitation to folks who harvest e-mail addresses for SPAM, etc.

__Don't spread urban legends by forwarding a warning e-mail before checking out the facts for yourself.

__Do yourself and everyone else a favor and do not send jokes, forwards, etc., they are not appreciated by everyone. Like the boy who cried wolf, your important e-mail may be overlooked because 9 out of 10 times you send what may considered junk mail by a friend.

__Be polite. Respond to your e-mails in a timely fashion. If it's business related respond the same day if possible; just say 'received your e-mail, will get back to you later.' just as you would with voice mail.

__Be careful what you say and how you say it in an e-mail. Never fire off an e-mail when you are angry, your words may come back to haunt you again and again. Some of you may remember the Bryant Gumbel e-mail to his superiors concerning Willard Scott. Always check once more and ask yourself "Do I really want to send this? Also be very sure that you are only sending to the person you want to send it to and sending it to all.

__Use upper and lower case alpha when typing. It is considered RUDE to send an e-mail in all CAPS.

__When you send an e-mail take care to add a subject in the subject line. If you make a mistake and send a blank subject, send a second e-mail immediately, "Sorry the subject is 'Nursery School'", otherwise your e-mail may be mistaken for SPAM and erased.

__Don't use a lot of fancy fonts and pictures, there is a chance that your creatively will be lost on the recipient and come through as a plain ole e-mail.

Hone your skills for work and family and you hone them for living life to the fullest