“PLEASE stop hitting reply all on every e-mail you send.”
Or wait, is it…
“PLEASE stop hitting reply all on every email you send.”
As of 2011, the AP Stylebook now says the appropriate way to abbreviate “electronic mail” is just “email.” A hyphen is no longer deemed necessary – or correct for that matter.
It’s not “e-mail,” or “Email,” or my personal least favorite: “E-mail,” it’s just simply “email.” There is no capitalization necessary here – after all, we’re just referencing electronic mail here. No proper nouns at stake.
While little details such as hyphens and capital letters may seem trivial, it’s errors like this that will distract fellow grammar Nazis from the message you are trying to convey. In an angry message like the one shown above, a grammar mistake makes it very easy to poke fun at you. No one wants that – especially when you’re already a bit worked up.
This rule is just an exception though; still use the hyphen for other e- terms: e-book, e-business, e-commerce. Stay tuned, as who knows what antiquated tech terms may be retired next.
This post courtesy of MMC Summer 2019 Intern Bianca Price.