Ah, the temptations of e-mail, that instantaneous form of communication that lacks inflection, facial expression or any other meaningful body language.

How many of us have hit the send key in a hurried moment or a fit of pique, only to regret it?

Carrie Newcomer, a guitarist and singer-songwriter from the state of Indiana, said it well in one stanza of a ditty she wrote called "Don't Push Send."

Carol wrote about her job's frustrations

What drove her crazy with aggravation

A list of every person's faults

With precise and pithy, wry insults

She sent it off to her best friend

But saw with horror as she pushed send

She hit the keys and began to roar

She'd copied the entire office floor.

So, don't push send

Don't push send

There's things that you can never quite amend

I tell myself again and again, don't push send.

Lisa Benenson, editor in chief of Hallmark Magazine, has never made that particular mistake but admits to dashing off hasty responses she lived to regret.

"Now, I put it in save. I wait and I think and I make sure that's what I want to say," she said.

E-mail is a potential minefield, she noted, adding, "The finger is faster than the brain."

Once you realize your e-mail message has offended someone or hurt a person's feelings, Ms. Benenson said, "Try to send an e-mail right away. You might want to retype the words you really wanted to say and put the phrase 'correct version' in the subject line."

But that's only the start of a sincere effort to make amends.

"You have to face the music. An e-mail apology is never as sincere as a personal or handwritten apology. They're too easy," Ms. Benenson said.

If you send an offensive e-mail to your boss, she said, talk with him or her face-to-face as soon as possible. She suggested telling your boss: " 'I sent this before I was ready. I'm feeling kind of foolish.' People appreciate candor and taking responsibility."

If you accidentally attach the wrong document to an e-mail and send your medical records or financial information to a colleague in the office, act immediately.

"Stand up and walk over to his or her desk. Say, 'I sent you something really embarrassing. Can you please delete it?' And you stand there and watch while they do it," Ms. Benenson said, because, "it's only human nature that if you're told not to look at something, of course you're going to look at it."

Make sure your colleague who received that e-mail also puts the document in the computer's trash can and watch as the bin is emptied.

"You might also suggest that it has a computer virus if you want to be sure they're not going to open it," Ms. Benenson said.

Be careful in your e-mail signoff, too.

Closing with "Thanks" "can sound as though you are barking an order," Ms. Benenson said. Signing off with the word "regards" can sound a bit icy.

The most neutral signoff, she added, is "All the best."

And remember, an e-mail should be like a voice mail -- short and sweet.