Mikey Rox Rule 1 of Email and Text: Do not send anything you did not see in public or post uncertain things for the world to see. If your messages are even to the slightest degree contentious, aggressive, provocative or s3xual in nature, remember that they will reach other person also other than the intended recipient.

Once the narrative is out of your hands, you have no way of controlling it ─ which can have unexpected consequences.
Avoid certain disasters by paying attention to the following details, you should put in mind if you ever text or email.

Anger towards your partner: My ex-husband and I are now on a good footing, but for a few years before our divorce, it was difficult to get along.
One of the factors that contributed to us never thinking alike about things was that we were always fighting by text or email.
He chose it that way because, he said, he could never get a word in during an exchange (which I do not dispute), but texting and emailing our points of contention apparently only exacerbated our problems.

Our “tone” was often misinterpreted when it was written and we did not approach our marriage as adults. So avoid making the same mistakes with your partner that I made with mine.

Also remember that “anything you say in court can and will be used against you”. Where our marriage is now ending on a friendly footing, this is not the case with all relationships ─ and if there is a paper trail of disorder towards each other, it can for sure be used as evidence against you.

Breaking up a relationship: If you have been in a relationship with someone for more than a few weeks, especially if you have consumed the relationship, you owe it to the other individual to break it up personally..

It’s just plain ordinary decency. Personally, I would rather be dismissed over a cup of coffee than be awakened by a text message that reads, “It’s over”. Because then I will respond with, “Is it so” and arrive at your office a few hours later to fight the case.

Dismissing an employee: Dismissing an employee is just like breaking a relationship and must be treated with the same sensitivity. Sending someone a text or email to say he or she is being fired is cowardly and disrespectful no matter how old he or she is or how long he or she has been with the firm.

Call the employee to your office, tell him straight away that his services are being terminated and discuss the professional detachment process. It also gives you the opportunity to manage the removal of the employee’s personal property, while, if he gets notice by text or email, it gives him a lot of time to steal company information because he would still be back physically to the office, to come to get his belongings.

In such situations, things can go wrong very quickly, as many company security guards will be able to attest.

Your nude photos: Look, you’re an adult and can do whatever you want, but you can not start crying when your boss or your mom discovers the nude photos and videos you’ve been sending to strangers all along on Tinder.

Not everyone out there are nice people ─ and the sooner you acknowledge it, the less likely you are to display all your assets on the internet. If you want to get involved in this kind of activity, at least do it with someone you trust.

Otherwise, keep identifiable physical aspects of you out of the photos, including your face and tattoos. I give this advice as someone with experience of how these inspirational-of-the-moment decisions can go awry… and it will not have the outcome you want.

Personal and financial information: When people ask for your credit card information via text or email ─ even if you trust them completely ─ politely refuse. If you send the information over unencrypted or unsecured networks, hackers and identity thieves can get their hands on it.

Rather use the telephone and have the recipient of the information transcribe it manually. Ask him to share the evidence afterwards.

Messages that make you look illiterate: Sometimes I read emails from professionals in highly paid positions and I wonder how this man got through matric. You know what I’m talking about. It is this plague in the community that cannot put a sentence together properly or insert punctuation correctly.

Some people write an entire paragraph almost without a comma or a period. It drives me crazy and makes me question their literacy.

Homeschooler and counsellor Nicole Dean said “Sending incomplete e-mails or e-mails that have not been proofread is the worst – especially to potential employers or professional / business contacts,” she says. When writing an e-mail to a professional or when writing an angry e-mail (in which you complain about something and criticize), do not enter the person’s e-mail address until you have written the entire e-mail . Then read the entire email.

I also find it useful, as a habit, to attach files to the email before writing the text. Never answer everyone. If you have multiple email addresses, always check which one you are using before you start typing.

“People have been sending mass replies or single emails using a second or third ‘cancelable’ email address, which is unprofessional and inappropriate.”

Apologies and confessions: Personally apologize for whatever you did wrong. Similarly, if you have something to confess, sit down and tell the truth and get on with your life.

“Whatever bad thing you have done that justifies a sincere apology or penitent confession, it requires more than a 146-character black-and-white response,” says author Mark Babbitt, founder of a social refuge for young professionals.

For sure it’s easier to convey bad news while you’re behind your device but the most appropriate way to do it is in person. The offended person would know that you are really sorry, unlike when you send through a text or email that you are sorry. Who knows? you might be lying after all.

This article has been put in place to correct our wrong use of emails and texts. I hope we get the best out of it.