Reply All

There has not been a part of the great inventions of the 21st century which has been as destructive as the "reply all" button on an email program.
I learned a long time ago that when sending out a mass email about something that happened or will happened that I better be very cautious when choosing the people on the To and CC lines because the damage any of these people are able to inflict can be crippling. I have a friend who when he knows the stakes are highest and the audience is broadest (read lots of people on an email with a comment he knows can shame) will never pass on the opportunity to hit 'reply all' and comment something to the effect of

"Your observations show that you are childish, know nothing about xxxxx and by the way you used 'their' instead of 'there' proving again you are an idiot,"


The other issue with the 'reply all' is that there are often conversations and bickerings between two people which now get broadcast to everybody within email distance. I have fallen victim to this but have also been a culprit which i usually justify by saying I am saving face which is a shitty justification anyway. But honestly when I get onto an email thread with two people going back-and-forth it is painful especially if you aren't monitoring it in real-time and get home to find 46 messages in your email box.

So my suggestion
The way I avoid the Reply All menace by keeping him off the original email or better yet post all your controversial thoughs on your blog.

Reply-all must be used very carefully when you are answering something. Step back and realize that your insanity is not interesting for anybody else especially if the appeal is to a very small portion of the email readers.


Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry