Internet Evolution: "And in that vein, SharePoint may become the victim of its own success: There are no clearly defined standards and best practices for designing and deploying SharePoint in a cohesive manner. This is not to say that expertise does not exist and that people don’t have opinions and valid experiences. But let’s get real -- the product was only shipped in November 2006, and organizations can get rather desperate as they search for balanced and practiced governance standards."

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Laura Scott posted her 9 best practices and things to avoid when it comes to e-mail. We followed some of these rules a decade ago, but a good reminder is always appreciated. Laura doesn't mention anything about not using all CAPS in an e-mail and I assume that's because if you don't know that rule by now...nine rules is beyond your grasp.

My favorite rule to follow is number 3:

Write your response above the quoted text.

I don't think I'm alone when I say I don't like having to scroll down just to read what you have written. I already know what I wrote -- and if I don't remember, I can scroll down to look. When you deal with over 100 real emails a day, this becomes all the more important.

Don't make me scroll! Please!

I've always been unsure where to place the quoted text in an e-mail. If I recall correctly, doesn't (didn't) Thunderbird place the quote above text by default? I'm sure it's Mozilla's fault as to why I'm so confused...

"Open source software has countless advantages over proprietary software. While there are disadvantages as well, such as the lack of built-in support contracts and no one to blame when things go wrong (which means no one to sue), in most cases moving to open source software is a smart move. You never need to just accept whatever functionality comes with it; you can modify the software to do whatever your heart desires, and you're never "locked in" with a particular vendor when you need additional functionality. There is a community of people developing, using, and testing the software, which tends to lead to higher quality and faster growth. Plus, it's generally cheaper than proprietary software (often times, free).

However, gaining the full advantages of open source requires a fundamental shift in development practice. And people who are not "in the know" on this point can often get into trouble when they continue to work in a traditional way, and a negative attitude about open source software (it's not me, it's them!) can result."

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