Question about email etiquette

[MossCommuter]

If you are addressing a formal email to someone you do not know very well, do you put

'Dear Mr Lastname' if a chap or 'Dear Ms Lastname' if a female chap, or can you use their forename if they wrote at the end of their email, e.g. Dear Michelle?

You answered your own question.

If it's a formal email, write it as a letter; over formality cannot be wrong in this situation. Over familiarity definitely could be.

 

[TheDoctor]

When sending emails, FFS use the spell checker!!
I get inordinately annoyed by near illiterate, badly spelled emails, most of which come from people who get paid more than I do.
And do try to avoid the typo I once managed. I ended an email to a supplier 'Best retards'.
Oops

 

[AnythingButVanilla]

I normally start with Dear Whoever and then revert to using whatever name they sign off with. I had to send one this afternoon to someone I'd never spoken to and didn't know if they were a doctor or surgeon or admin so just started it Dear Alex. If they get humpty then I'm sure I'll soon know about it.

 

[MossCommuter]

Or even badly-spelt emails?

And was Jerusalem builded here among those dark satanic mills?

 

[colly]

e mail or email ? I had never considered it until now.

 

[MossCommuter]

or eMail, e-mail or e-Mail

 

[slowmotion]

I thought that emails were informal?

If I wanted to write something formal I'd do it as a letter in a word doc' and attach it to an email with a very short cover in the email body.

I use Hi Christian name and regards/best/cheers or similar to sign off.

Absolutely. Email is pretty much like speech, given the promiscuity with which it proliferates.

 

[Fnaar]

Yo, Adrian mofo, Wat u sayin' is dat dem supplies wat u sendin ain't coming till nxt week, innit. Dat all cool wid me, so chill, bro.

Something like this, I find, bridges the gap between formality and informality.