My internet life began for real in the fall of 1995. My mentors for life on the ‘net were Jonathan M. and Pete H. For whatever reason, they never pushed the whole idea of using a “signature line.” You probably know what I mean…
http://www.policypatrol.com/well-executed-email-signature-key-in-corporate-correspondence/
Those 4- or 5-line information packs that explain who you are and how to get hold of you. Nowadays, it seems like just about everyone is using one. However, there’s a part of me that still balks. Jonathan taught me to be careful about information. He also encouraged me to leave off “fluff.” “Be kind to the bandwidth,” was his mantra. If signature lines start to multiply in replies, like a feedback loop in a sound system, the howl of wasted bandwidth would ring in his ears. But is it true? … that Outlook and other modern email clients have sophisticated settings that only use signatures in the first reply and not others in the thread? If so, is it time to start using them? What’s your opinion? Speak your mind by clicking “comment” after this message on the web. Thanks in advance for your opinions.
I like to keep my Email signatures slim. In fact, the article just caused me to review mine and shave some stuff off again…
But remember that some jurisdictions require certain information. In the UK, for example, anyone writing on behalf of a company or registered charity (virtually all ministries including churches are covered) has to include basic company information in the Email somewhere. Conventionally this would be in the signature.
I use a signature on all of my business emails, but not any of my personal email addresses. It enables me to let folks know who is sending the mail, how to respond in various ways, and also has a notice regarding the potential confidentiality of the content. I also have a short signature on replies (Outlook allows me to have two signatures or more) that just gives my name and direct phone line. It gives the correspondence a more professional touch.
In opening this webpage on this topic—even with its clean design and small graphics—I used enough bandwidth for about 500 4-line signature lines. So, bandwidth really isn’t the issue.
The question is, do you want for certain people to easily know how to get ahold of you, besides replying to your email?
When I was in the business world, I used a nice, concise 3-line signature line. It gave people all the info they needed to get ahold of me if they needed to, with the exception of my cell phone #. I never included my cell # in the signature line. If I wanted someone to have that #, I would add it separately.
Now, I use 3 or 4 different signature lines, each one containing a different amount of info, each of which is used dependent upon whether I want to be contacted (at all hours of the day) or not by that person.