Why email signatures are dumb

Flickr user Jim Hammer

(MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY  Do email signatures anger you? Perhaps that's an unusual question -- after all, how can one of those boilerplate sign-offs that you see a hundred times each day generate an emotional response? Particularly a strongly negative one?

Well, this isn't new ground here at MoneyWatch. I've written about signatures before, such as when I recommended avoiding "Sent from my iPhone." Recently, I ran across and amusing article in sports blog Deadspin, "How to not piss off the world with your email signature." The article (which sensitive readers should know contains strong language) makes a good point that there's no reason to use signatures at all, and their very presence can be annoying to a lot of people.

In principle, I agree with Deadspin. There are few, if any, compelling reasons to add a boilerplate signature to your email message, and it is probably safer to leave it off. You won't offend anyone by the lack of a signature, while almost anything you do write can be interpreted as cloying, annoying, rude, or condescending. I know some of you are saying, "people should get a thicker skin." Perhaps, but you have a vested interest in keeping the people you email happy. You wouldn't risk offending a client or your boss with an offensive joke. Why do it with an email signature?

Consider these old standbys that commonly appear in an email sig:

Email address. With rare exception, anyone who gets your message has your email address by virtue of having the email. Putting an address at the bottom is a waste of space and can be seen as stupidly redundant.

Quotes. I'm completely with Deadspin on this. There's no upside to a quote -- it will likely be saccharine, offend some readers, or consist of some annoying aphorism.

Images. Images, like your corporate logo, break and get delivered as attachments so frequently and on so many different email systems that you should just assume images will never render correctly.

Sent from my iPhone. Or any of its variations. If you intend this to mean, "sorry for the brevity and typos, but I'm sending this from my cell phone while standing on the bus," it won't be received that way, you tech snob.

Please consider the environment before printing this email. Look up "condescending" in the dictionary. You'll see this sentence in the definition.

Are there others? What email signatures annoy you? Which variations do you find acceptable? Or do you disagree with my whole premise? Sound off in the comments and share your thoughts about email signatures.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Jim Hammer

[oCHEZo]

Like when an author writes an article about excessive information, then foots his article with his photo and

"Dave Johnson
ON TWITTER
View all articles by Dave Johnson on CBS MoneyWatch
Dave Johnson is editor of eHow Tech and author of three dozen books, including the best-selling How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera. Dave has previously worked at Microsoft and has written about technology for a long list of magazines that include PC World and Wired."

[Cbabynurse]

I find it pretentious when people include ALL of their credentials in their "default signature" for every email they send. It's as if they're shouting, "Hey! I'm better than you & I have all of these titles to prove it!"
For instance...

"Jane E. Doe, RNC-OB, C-EFM, MSN, PhD., Director of Nursing for Womens' Services at Ivy League Medical Center"
(And a partridge in a pear tree...)

:-)

[mach037]

"Sent from my iPhone" indicates the sender is not tech-savvy enough to turn off the iPhone-supplied advertisement.

[MSabaro]

Signatures are fine if they have additional "contact" information. Anything more than 2-3 lines is unnecessary and makes the email more difficult to read if it includes a follow on thread. Better yet, no signatures in replies should be what talk about.

[JeffP7]

Someone needs to put their man pants on. If you don't like the signature, don't look at it. I always want their name, company name, and a number to reach them at if I feel a phone call will be better than exchanging endless emails. Yes, a return email address in case the email is forwarded to me from someone else. Definitely a business title, especially if it is from someone I don't know. "Sent from my iphone" tells me two things. One, if I want to call them, call them on their cell phone. And two, if I don't get a reply back right away, they may be in a meeting or on the road.

[cdonegan]

More annoying than any of the above is when a phone number IS NOT included in business correspondence. Sometimes a phone call is necessary. Help me out. Let me call you.

[cdonegan]

More annoying than any of the above is when a phone number IS NOT included in business correspondence. Sometimes a phone call is necessary. Help me out. Let me call you.

[csokol100]

Aren't you over-reacting a little? The signature generally includes contact information such as a phone number which can be helpful in a pinch. Very rarely are signatures bothersome.

[cbscomms]

Its an amusing article. Many countries have laws about what needs to be included on a corporate email signature. http://www.theemaillaundry.com/content.php?cid=43

[ycdbsoya]

I think this is a warning in search of an imaginary danger.

After sending and receiving 4,980,387,238 so far in my tech-biz career, not once have I taken offense or complained about this problem, nor has anyone even intimated that my email with company logo and a couple of phone numbers was even slightly disconcerting to their equanimity.

(Sorry I can't put my email sig in here.)