don't send attachments

though there are exceptions, most attachments are unnecessary.  if you come across an entertaining item on the web that 25 of your closest friends absolutely must see, send them the url, not the content itself.  if you didn't find it on the web, take a minute to open up a web browser and look for it.  it's out there.

if you are creating the content yourself, those adorable photos of fluffy you just scanned in, put them on your web site.  you don't need to create web pages to glue all the images together, you can just send the urls to the items themselves.

sending the url gives the recipient control over how and when they download the pictures.  for example, if someone wants to quickly check for urgent e-mail before running out the door, they may not want to wait five minutes while those pictures of fluffy trickle through the modem.  also many e-mail clients don't deal well with attachments and all the formats in which they are sent.  web browsers are particularly good at coping with files of all kinds and from many platforms.

a note on attached programs: running a program you received as an attachment, even from a someone you trust, is taking a risk.  that cute little program with santa dancing naked on the roof and down the chimney could well contain a virus, it's where i'd put one.  if the person who sent it uses microsoft outlook, they may not have even sent the message voluntarily.  when in doubt ask the sender about the origin of the program before running it.  had they sent a url to the source web page, you might have been able to judge better for yourself.