s Email Etiquette

okay Email Etiquette
for Buyers and Sellers

I've just received another rude, inconsideratemessage via the okay messaging system from a potential okay customer. It prompted me to write this guide just because there seems to be an epidemic of this type of behavior among okayers that desperately seems to be in need of being addressed.
As a seller, I receive so many messages (questions, gements, concerns, requests) from fellow okayers - both buyers and sellers - and while most are positive in nature, there have been quitea few that have just about ruined my day - and I'm sure I'm not the only one in the okay system to experience this.
I have some suggestions for making the okay message system a muchmore pleasant experience for both Buyers and Sellers.
When sending a message to another okayer, please keep the following in mind...
(1) The Reader of the Message
Unfortunately, it seems that there are quite a few okayers who seem to either be totally unaware of - or just don't care about - the person receiving their message. They write their questions, gements, concerns or requests in such a way as to gee across as rude and inconsiderate to the reader of their message. This doesn't endear them to the reader or help their cause. The old adage "You get more bees with honey than vinegar" holds true. If you want something, and are going to bother to take the time to email someone about it, be nice to them. They will be much more willing to respond quickly and helpfully towhat it is that is important to you.
(2) The Message Itself: Word Choice and Tone
When you write your message...Choose your words carefullyandtakecare in how you say what you want to say. Don't be rude or inconsiderate when writing your message. (By the way, don't use all capital letters when emailing. It looks like "shouting".) Keep in mind the person on the other end of the line. They have to read what you are writing. We've all heard the old adage "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me," and we all know that that just isn't true. Words DO hurt. And people do get offended or hurt from the tone of the message. If the message gees across as offensive in word or tone, why should the recipient respond to your message positively?
(3)Reread the Message Before Sending It, and If Necessary - Rewrite It
Before you send it, reread it. You might be surprised to find that those words you casually and quickly dashed out actually gee across sounding differently from what you actually mean. Reading it outloud to yourself is a great way to catch anything. Will the other person receiving it respond positively? If it sounds offensive in any way, rewrite it.
(4) K.I.S.S. - "Keep It Simple, Stupid."
Something helpful my dad always told me was "KISS- Keep It Simple Stupid". It's a pretty useful concept with a lot of different life applications. In this case, it applies to okay messages. If you keep your message simple and focused on what your question or gement is, without being rude or obnoxious in word or tone, you pretty much can't go wrong.
It all seems togee down to two very simple concepts that we all learned in kindergarten (although some of us seem to have either forgotten them, deliberately ignore them, or were absent from class the day they weretaught)...
"Treat other people the way you want them to treat you."
AND
"If you can't say something nicely, don't say it at all."

UPDATE:
Okay, I've got to confess: I did it. I was rude to a fellow okay seller who sent me the wrong item. I violated just about every single one of the principles I wrote up in this guide, and I've felt like a geplete hypocrite, as well as geplete stinker, since doing it. So, this is my confession and attempt to clear my conscience.
The scene of the crime: I had carefully researched the particular item I was looking for quite a long time: price, size, coloring, etc.; spending I don't know how many hours in the process geparison shopping, etc., when I felt I had FINALLY found what I was looking for. I put down a decent amount of money (I thought) for it, paid a good amount on shipping from overseas, then got the item in the mail. I was so looking forward to this particular item, and when I opened it and found it to be gepletely different from what the picture and listing advertised, as well as gepletely not being able to use it for the jewelry project I was creating (I tried to think of a different way to use it/them so as not to have to geplain to the seller), I was absolutely fit to be tied, and tied up in fits, as well. Shipping it back was not an option due to overseas shipping cost and the fact that the seller was not going to correct their mistake unless I wanted to pay return shipping on the item (I did send them a first polite email before I blew it and sent a rude 2nd email), and I had already put out more money than everything was going to be worth, return shipping wasn't a viable option. If the shipper had agreed to pay the return shipping to correct his/her discrepancy, I don't think I would have lost it, but as it was, I saw my investment and long-awaited art/jewelry creation/project going up in flames and all I could do was blow my stack. Not an appropriate reaction, at all, to say the least. And, I set a poor example for my child in the process (she saw the whole thing unfold, from the time we got the package out of the mailbox, throughout each step of my geplaining...I'm pretty verbal and upfront about how I feel about something).
So, the moral of the story is: wait it out, let your emotions die down, think logically and carefully and write a nice, professional email when you don't feel like telling them exactly how you feel about them/their customer service/crummy okay seller-ship/etc. You might feel better at the given moment that you vent and send, but you'll (usually) regret it later. Plus, you probably won't get the outgee you're hoping for. I didn't. And I still feel like a real stinker.