email etiquette

We've all been there before — it's midnight when you suddenly remember a work email you promised to send at the end of the day. You're tempted to send an email right then and there because you either have a deadline, or you don't want to forget to send it again the next day. Before you make any rash decisions, stop and consider the situation. Unless the email is an emergency and you actually have people waiting to hear back from you, then I advise you hold off on it till the next day. It's also OK to send it if your colleague lives in a different time zone where it's daytime to your night. Here are reasons against sending late-night work emails:

• They most likely won't read it until the next day. If it's related to work, many people often tune out of their work life once they are home. There are a lot of people who either resolve to not check their work emails after work, or not to respond to any work emails until they're back at the office. You're most likely not going to get a response if no one is waiting on you, so hold off on emailing until you're back to your cubicle.
• You'll be reminding them of work during their downtime. Even if your colleague checks her email after work, you don't want to add an additional stressor and remind her of the daily grind that they're trying to escape from.
• The a.m. time stamp is a little iffy. Even if you're more of a night owl, keep those habits to yourself and try not to send off an email at 1 a.m. It might make people wonder what you're doing up in the middle of the night.

Wouldn't it be simple if emails consisted of just a "To" and "Subject" field? As emails get more sophisticated, more and more features are being added on, but some of them are really handy to have. One of my favorites is the underrated BCC, or blind carbon copy. Here are a couple of rules to follow when using it:

• Emailing strangers: When you're sending emails to people who don't know each other and you don't need any of them to interact with each other over email, it's best to err on the side of caution and BCC them. There are people who don't like their private information revealed and wouldn't want their email address passed around.
• When people don't have to be in the conversation: You shouldn't clog up people's inboxes with unnecessary information, so when it feels like they no longer need to be on the email chain, you can make a note informing the recipients that you are moving person A to BCC. That way, person A won't be receiving unnecessary emails that she doesn't need to read.
• When you want someone to know you sent an email out: If person A introduced you to someone, you can either BCC or CC her when you're reaching out to her friend or contact. BCC-ing is often a way to give someone the confirmation that you're sending out the email or to send them the first copy of the email for their reference.

Have you or someone you know fallen victim to one of these bridal email etiquette situations? When you're dealing with a busy wedding party scattered throughout the country (or even just scattered across your town), digital communication is a must. It keeps all of the bridesmaids and other VIPs in the know and is a quick, easy way for the bride, maid of honor, or anyone else to communicate thoughts, ideas, plans, and other important info to many people at once. However, it can also create problems. When you're writing while stressed, it can be far too easy to misinterpret the tone of an email (since body language is nonexistent), and then it's open season on hurt feelings. Here, three sticky email etiquette situations to avoid.

• MOH on a power trip. If you're involved in a wedding, you know there is an endless amount of parties, gifts, and expenses associated with them. While she may be trying to help, an overzealous maid of honor may become a little pushy — especially if she's a planner.
  How to deal: If you're dealing with one of these types, it's best to keep your correspondence professional and to the point. If she demands an RSVP to a party invite or gift contribution, and you can't give her one just yet, be honest. Quickly explain your situation, apologize, and stand your ground. If it's appropriate (like, if you can't make it to an out-of-state shower), be sure to explain your position to the bride, too. Just keep any potential conflicts out of the communication you have with the bride — if you have beef with the maid of honor, better to deal with it just between the two of you.

Keep reading for more sticky wedding-related email situations

We recently outlined some serious email pet peeves, pitting them against one another to see which was the worst. While the majority vote said that forwarding along a forwarded, forwarded message was the worst, you had some funny responses of your own. Check out more pet peeves below.

• "Bad grammar and punctuation! If your email has a spell check use it for crying out loud. A bunch of people would be copied on them and no one ever mentioned he should you know, have someone proof read his emails." — Budderflie

Check out more pet peeves and share your own (if you haven't already) after the break.

Last week, a New York Times writer debated the meaning of various email sign-offs, from "Sincerely" to "Fondly" to "Love." Inspired by a woman who actually emailed her to ask the writer to not use her signature sign-off ("Carpe Diem") because she used it, the author "realized how fraught that little epistolary goodbye can be."

The piece makes some excellent points: with email (or any typed message), it's often difficult to interpret the tone or feeling of the words you're reading, which is why a sign-off is sometimes of heightened importance. "Best" may be too formal for everyday use, but "Thanks!" won't always cut it, either. She then admires a few friends' and acquaintances' sign-offs, ranging from "xx" to "Be Fabulous."

If I'm emailing with a friend or family, I usually stick with a simple, "xk" to sign my emails. If it's business, I usually stick with a "Thanks" or "Talk soon" — "Sincerely" and "Best" just aren't my thing. But this piece got me thinking . . . and I think I'd like to come up with a more creative signature valediction (that's the opposite of "salutation"; I had to look it up, too.)

Do you have a signature way of signing your emails?

A few months ago an old email account of mine was hacked and started sending spam to everyone in my contact list. I've already posted a guide on how I handled it, but when the same thing recently happened to a co-worker, she was wondering how to appropriately apologize to friends and former colleagues that she hadn't talked to in years. Though you may be embarrassed, sending an email to let these people know that you are sorry is good form. See my top five tips on writing your apology email when you read more.

When I shared my opinion that I dislike mobile email signatures, most of you agreed. Here's more of what you had to say on the subject:

• "The 'please excuse any errors' is soooo obnoxious! It's not that difficult to type properly and then reread before sending, regardless of where you're sending it from! I have a love/hate relationship with the signature, however. I do sometimes like to know an email is coming from someone's iphone as opposed to knowing my friend is sitting at her desk at work." — skigurl

For more opinions (and to share one of your own!), keep reading.

Amid the sad news that former Vice President Al Gore and his wife decided to split, CNN inadvertently published Al Gore's email address when posting an email sent by the former VP and his wife to close friends. After claiming it received the email from a "longtime family friend," the news outlet posted the email in its entirety — including the email address it was sent from. Though it has since been removed, the address was live on the site for nearly two hours; long enough for thousands of people to see.

I once fell victim to a similar disaster — CCing a group of recipients on an invitation instead of BCCing everyone. I received no less than 10 angry emails from contacts upset that their personal addresses were shared with a large group. I've also been on the receiving end of such a gaffe, but clearly never on this scale. Just another one to add to the list of top Internet mistakes of all time, I guess! Has something like this ever happened to you?