Tech Support Pits:

From Kate===
Dear Webby,
Can you please settle an argument about e-mail style for us?
My view is that every e-mail, no matter if it is the first
or the hundredth, should have a salutation like "Dear X" or
"Hi Y" on top, and sign off with a name, or if it is the
hundredth mail from the same person, with at least an
initial.

The other people in my car pool say that is a waste of time,
has gone out of style and that "nobody on AOL uses
those old-fashioned formats any more". Two of them even
maintain that a descriptive subject line is a waste of time,
since the subject is discussed in the email.

What is your advice?
Thanks
Kate

Dear Kate
Common sense and courtesy has not gone out of style.
I too get annoyed when some dumb slum dweller, who
probably changes his or her screen name more often
than the underwear, expects me to guess who they are.
I usually let the delete key do the guessing.

I don't have a problem at all with missing subject lines.
My spam control takes care of that. If they have no subject
to talk about, then their mail gets trashed, unseen.

The same goes for a missing name or nickname, the
"Real Name" field in the mail set-up.

"Real Name" refers to the name somebody wants to be
called or greeted with, and can be a first name or nickname
or a full name. "Real Name" is called that to differentiate
it from "User Name".

If there is no "Real Name", then my spam control program
trashes that mail.

Kate, I agree with you 100 %. Those few common courtesies
make all the difference between anonymous heckling and
decent communication.

Have FUN
Dear Webby