The First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak
E-mail Policy
Approved by Session Tuesday, October 8, 2002

The following is intended to provide guidelines for the governing of fpcro.org assigned e-mail accounts.

E-mail is an efficient way to send messages. E-mail facilitates the ability to communicate a single message to multiple recipients simultaneously. While e-mail may be one of the quickest and easiest ways to communicate, if may not be the most appropriate way to conduct business. Think before you write. Determine if the message is best communicated via e-mail, or if the telephone or face-to-fact meeting might be more appropriate.

Assigned accounts should not be overused or misused. Accounts are to be used to for church related communications. Everyone is urged to use extreme caution to ensure that the correct e-mail address is used for the intended recipient(s). Users must also abide by copyright laws, ethics rules and all other applicable laws. Sending harassing, abusive, intimidating, discriminatory, or other offensive e-mails is strictly prohibited.

While there is no intent to monitor e-mail, you should not expect or treat e-mail as confidential or private. No one will be permitted to access another person’s e-mail without prior consent.

The e-mail Administrator will set up and administer fpcro.org e-mail accounts and passwords upon the delivery of a completed Request Form. The e-mail Administrator is to be notified when an account is no longer necessary. The account will be inactivated and removed to prevent any potential misuse.

Submission of the following form acknowledges understanding of the above e-mail policy.

Please keep in mind:

Use of an fpcro.org e-mail address is intended to be used for church communications.
Use of an fpcro.org e-mail account makes the user a representative of The First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak.
The recipients of fpcro.org e-mail will expect the message content and attachments to be appropriate and pertinent to church business and activities.

Use e-mail when:

You want to deliver a message quickly and aren’t concerned about reply speed
You want to avoid phone, fax, and delivery costs
You need to communicate with readers in other time zones or countries
You want to deliver one message to many readers.

Consider NOT sending e-mail if:

The e-mail message is highly sensitive and/or confidential. e-mail isn’t secure.
An immediate response is required.
You risk offending the reader with a poorly worded message.
There is a risk your message will be misinterpreted or misunderstood.

e-mail Etiquette

Be mindful of the recipient’s ability to accommodate attachments.
Attach first; write the message second (avoids forgetting the attachment).
Limit recipients to those with a genuine need for the message and attachment.
Avoid sending an attachment when a brief message will do.
If the recipient doesn’t know you, they are less likely to open an unannounced attachment.
It may be more appropriate to ask permission to send an attachment to someone who is not familiar with the fpcro.org e-mail address or just out of common courtesy.
All correspondence projects an image of the individual writer and The First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak organization as a whole.
An e-mail full of errors will tax the reader’s patience and lessen credibility.