How to send me email

How to ensure I get the email

• Make sure that the subject line clearly states the purpose of your message. This is particularly important if you are a stranger, or are sending from a strange portal and I am not likely to recognize your name and email address. Emails with blank, vague or cute subject lines are likely to be deleted unread.
• Use only ASCII or (if you must) iso-8859-1 (Latin-1) characters in the subject line, since otherwise it might not be legible in whatever mailer I happen to be using. In particular do not use Microsoft formatting characters (underlines, "smart" quotes, highlighting etc.).
• Send the message in plain text. If the message involves characters not found in iso-8859-1, then preferably send it in UTF-8 format. If the message contains mathematical symbols, then send it as TeX source.
• If, disregarding the above, the message is in HTML, then do not put hyperlinks or HTML comments inside the message, as this is a common characteristic of spam. If you want to tell me about a web page, include the URL as plain text. It is just as easy for me to cut and paste the URL from your message as to "click here".
• Note in particular that messages converted from Microsoft Word format to HTML tend to get snagged by my spam filters. If you are sending me an email that you composed using Word or other Microsoft tools, make sure it is converted to plain text before you send it.
• In particular, please, no <IMG> tags inside the message. If you need to send me a picture, include it as an attachment.
• To shield my innocent soul, my mail program does not display pictures or attachments, so I will not ever see them unless I am convinced that it is worth my while to do so. So...
• Include attachments only if absolutely necessary. If the message can be conveyed by plain text, leave it at that. Do not attach several copies of the message in various formats. That wastes bandwidth and clogs up my mailbox. If you must include an attachment, make sure that there is a plain text message that explains the purpose of the attachment. Messages consisting solely of attachments, or which say only "Please see the attachment" are subject to automatic deletion.
• Unless it is something I am expecting, I typically don't open the attachment until I have reviewed all my email. If I get distracted, I may not open the attachment for hours, days, or even weeks. Information for which time is of essence should always be included in the main message, not relegated to the attachment -- otherwise, by the time I get around to reading it it might be too late!
• For sending image attachments, use .png, .jpg, .gif, .pdf, or .ps formats.
• For sending text attachments, preferably use .pdf, .ps, .dvi or .tex formats. (Sending plain text as an attachment, though, is fine, regardless of the file extension.) If necessary, I will attempt to read attachments sent as .odt , .ods , .odp , .doc, .xls, or .ppt but you should not count on my being able to decipher all the features of these, or any other proprietary formats.
• I will probably not read attachments sent in any other formats, unless I have been advised in advance. Note that any messages containing .exe, .scr, or .bat attachments will be assumed to contain viruses and will be automatically deleted.