It is easy for readers to interpret your message differently than what you meant. In particular, it's easy to read anger into a message, when none was intended. Remember, there is no body language, or tone of voice to give the reader clues.

You may want to include symbols or emojis to point out your attempts at humor. The standard smiley :) is the most frequently used symbol to convey humor.

Capital letters should be used where shouting is appropriate, which is not often.

Emphasis can be added to individual words or phrases by surrounding them with asterisks, *like this*, or CAPITALIZING just the few words needed to make your point.

Most often, this conversation should take place in person or at least via the telephone.