Diff: reference/style-guide-email
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| schema: foundry-doc-v1 | schema: foundry-doc-v1 |
| title: "Style guide — email" | title: "Style guide — email" |
| slug: style-guide-email | slug: style-guide-email |
| category: reference | category: reference |
| type: topic | type: topic |
| content_type: topic | content_type: topic |
| quality: complete | quality: complete |
| short_description: "Editorial standards for external and formal email in the platform (COMMS-EMAIL genre): lead-with-ask discipline, header requirements, body structure, and the professional register." | short_description: "Editorial standards for external and formal email in the platform (COMMS-EMAIL genre): lead-with-ask discipline, header requirements, body structure, and the professional register." |
| status: active | status: active |
| bcsc_class: public-disclosure-safe | bcsc_class: public-disclosure-safe |
| last_edited: 2026-05-25 | last_edited: 2026-05-25 |
| editor: pointsav-engineering | editor: pointsav-engineering |
| cites: [] | cites: [] |
| paired_with: style-guide-email.es.md | paired_with: style-guide-email.es.md |
| --- | --- |
| > Every external email has one point. The reader knows what is wanted by the end of the first paragraph. | > Every external email has one point. The reader knows what is wanted by the end of the first paragraph. |
| A **formal email** (COMMS-EMAIL genre) is any external or semi-formal communication sent to a recipient outside the Foundry workspace — a vendor, a regulator, a counterparty, or a collaborator. It differs from an inbox message in that it is addressed to a named recipient, carries a subject, and may be archived. This article is the human-facing standard; the machine-readable counterpart lives in `service-disclosure/templates/email.toml`. | A **formal email** (COMMS-EMAIL genre) is any external or semi-formal communication sent to a recipient outside the Foundry workspace — a vendor, a regulator, a counterparty, or a collaborator. It differs from an inbox message in that it is addressed to a named recipient, carries a subject, and may be archived. This article is the human-facing standard; the machine-readable counterpart lives in `service-disclosure/templates/email.toml`. |
| ## When to use this template | ## When to use this template |
| Use the email template for any communication that: | Use the email template for any communication that: |
| - Leaves the Foundry workspace (external recipient, external platform). | - Leaves the Foundry workspace (external recipient, external platform). |
| - Requires a written record (formal ask, vendor confirmation, regulatory contact). | - Requires a written record (formal ask, vendor confirmation, regulatory contact). |
| - Is addressed to a specific person or role, not to a group channel. | - Is addressed to a specific person or role, not to a group channel. |
| Internal messages to the inbox or outbox use the inbox-message format from workspace §12. Slack or chat messages use the [[style-guide-chat|chat template]]. | Internal messages to the inbox or outbox use the inbox-message format from workspace §12. Slack or chat messages use the [[style-guide-chat|chat template]]. |
| ## Structure | ## Structure |
| The template requires a header and three body sections: | The template requires a header and three body sections: |
| **Header** (before any body text): | **Header** (before any body text): |
| ``` | ``` |
| To: <recipient name and email, or role> | To: <recipient name and email, or role> |
| Subject: <specific subject — what this email is about, not "Update" or "Follow-up"> | Subject: <specific subject — what this email is about, not "Update" or "Follow-up"> |
| ``` | ``` |
| | Section | Purpose | | | Section | Purpose | |
| |---|---| | |---|---| |
| | **Opening** | One sentence: context and the ask, together. The recipient understands what is wanted without reading further. | | | **Opening** | One sentence: context and the ask, together. The recipient understands what is wanted without reading further. | |
| | **Body** | The detail the recipient needs to respond or act. One point per paragraph. No more than three paragraphs. | | | **Body** | The detail the recipient needs to respond or act. One point per paragraph. No more than three paragraphs. | |
| | **Close** | The specific next step and who owns it. A concrete date where possible. Followed immediately by the signoff. | | | **Close** | The specific next step and who owns it. A concrete date where possible. Followed immediately by the signoff. | |
| ## Register and tone | ## Register and tone |
| Professional, plain. Address the recipient by name or role in the opening where the relationship warrants it. Do not bury the ask in paragraph three. | Professional, plain. Address the recipient by name or role in the opening where the relationship warrants it. Do not bury the ask in paragraph three. |
| Subject lines must be specific: "Request for NDA — Woodfine Management Corp. / [Counterparty]" rather than "Partnership discussion." Ambiguous subjects delay responses and reduce traceability in archives. | Subject lines must be specific: "Request for NDA — Woodfine Management Corp. / [Counterparty]" rather than "Partnership discussion." Ambiguous subjects delay responses and reduce traceability in archives. |
| Sentence-length budget: mean around twenty words, maximum thirty-five. Active voice. The [[editorial-language-registers|banned-vocabulary list]] applies: state the action directly rather than using marketing-register phrases. | Sentence-length budget: mean around twenty words, maximum thirty-five. Active voice. The [[editorial-language-registers|banned-vocabulary list]] applies: state the action directly rather than using marketing-register phrases. |
| When the recipient may be a current or prospective investor, forward-looking claims about the platform, products, or roadmap carry "planned / intended / may / target" language. This applies to all statements about future capability, timeline, or commercial outcome. | When the recipient may be a current or prospective investor, forward-looking claims about the platform, products, or roadmap carry "planned / intended / may / target" language. This applies to all statements about future capability, timeline, or commercial outcome. |
| ## See also | ## See also |
| - [[style-guide-chat|Style Guide — Chat]] | - [[style-guide-chat|Style Guide — Chat]] |
| - [[style-guide-memo|Style Guide — Memo]] | - [[style-guide-memo|Style Guide — Memo]] |
| - [[language-protocol-substrate|Language Protocol Substrate]] | - [[language-protocol-substrate|Language Protocol Substrate]] |