One of Our Chief Correspondents Offers Some Reasonable Thoughts Concerning Our Ongoing Series of Posts About Student Email.

Do we really "have" to answer e-mail from students? Check your faculty handbooks: I don't, at my university. I usually respond to student e-mail within 24 hours, and almost always within 48, the way I tell my students on the first day of class I'll do. I don't always, though, because sometimes I don't think I should.

I'd like to contest that faculty should "Never ignore a student email, no matter how ridiculous it is." One example of e-mail that faculty clearly should not respond to are anonymous love notes from students. Sexual harassment is grounds for dismissal even if you have tenure: I delete messages like this immediately, they're dangerous to have around.

I've never received a love note from a student with a name on it, but I'd delete it immediately, too. It's difficult to prove you didn't just hit the "d" key accidentally. I certainly wouldn't e-mail the sender back!

Threatening e-mail, of course, should be forwarded immediately to the campus police. They can do any responding necessary better than I can, or should.

E-mail that's merely angry, but non-threatening, I often delete upon receipt. I think that's a good policy for angry e-mail from anyone, not just from students: responding to it can make things worse.

No one has to put up with abusive e-mail, such as "Eat poop." Forward it to the Dean of Students: even my Incompetent Dean of Students agreed that, if one said something like this to staff at a fine restaurant or hotel, they'd refuse to serve you, and university faculty should have the same rights.

I usually answer trivial e-mail as professionally (and as concisely) as I can, if my many other commitments aren't looming (or if RYS isn't funny that day). For example, if a student asked me what kind of notebook to buy, I'd reply with "You'll need to decide for yourself: get whatever works best for you," since it doesn't matter to me.

Illiterate e-mail, including text-ese, I respond to thusly:

Dear Knuckles,

I'm sorry, but I don't understand your e-mail message, because it contains at least 5 typos on the first line. Serious e-mail needs to be formal, like a business letter. Doing otherwise is bad for clear communication, which is the whole point of e-mail, isn't it? This includes e-mail to any boss, customer, client, consultant, or professor.

If you aren't sure how to use standard grammar, punctuation, and usage, see The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. Always check your spelling with your computer's spelling checker, or a dictionary. If you need more help, I'd be glad to help you during my office hours.

I know that it's common for students to send sloppy e-mail. Make no mistake: sloppy e-mail makes you look bad. It can also be bad for your grade. Please rewrite your message correctly, and send me the new, corrected version. If I understand it, I will do my best to answer any questions you might have.