If you use an absurd signature, I might end up sending it back to you

Raymond Chen

Despite my previous rant, absurdly elaborate email signatures are still common at Microsoft, and I’m not just talking about the ones that contain information that may be required by department policy. I’m talking about signatures that use bright colors, large fonts, maybe a bitmap or two, sometimes even a photo of the sender! I will sometimes mention in my reply, “Please consider making your signature less eye-catching. It distracts from the text of your message.” But other times, I just incorporate it in to the reply more directly:

From: John Doe

Blah blah blah question blah blah blah.

John Doe
Technical Liaison

telephone: 425-555-1212
mobile: [available upon request]
Make sure to visit my blog! http://www.example.com/

My reply might go like this:

To: John Doe

Hi, John Doe.

Blah blah blah answer blah blah blah.

Raymond Chen

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