When you're writing for the web, bold text and italicized text are the best ways to emphasize a few words at a time. Underlined text is associated with hyperlinks, and non-linked underlining creates unnecessary confusion when visitors encounter it on your website. Don't do this to your readers:
Big Announcement: Everyone needs to know about this very important announcement!
Is that a link on "Big Announcement"? The reader hovers over the words with the mouse, thinking, "I want to know more. Can I click here to get it?" Hmmm... no hand pointer... not clickable... It's definitely underlined, but it's not a link.
This only took a few seconds to figure out, but for a moment your reader was thinking more about the formatting than the message. Don't set your readers up for frustration. Reserve your use of underlining for hyperlinks, and remember that bold and italicized text are best for emphasizing your writing on the web.
I understand web etc. possible complications.Does underlining for emphasis in a personal mail now make me a rude person?Some say BOLD is like shouting.
Posted by: John Doran | September 09, 2011 at 01:35 AM
I've never heard that underlining and bold signify rudeness in the same manner as all-caps, but I can imagine how they might come across as aggressive when you merely mean to be emphatic (especially if the entire message is bold/underlined).
When deciding to use bold/underlining for emphasis, you have to consider your relationship with the reader of the email, the content of the message, and how they may interpret it. One technique is to read your message out loud in the opposite way you intend. If it still makes sense in the wrong tone, revise it so that the emotional content is less ambiguous.
Posted by: Rose | September 09, 2011 at 09:27 AM