the MOST

Thanks to sskennel on Flickr for the pic.

Picture it - you check your email, and find that your friend Sue has sent you and twenty of her closest friends an email with pictures of a cat and a dog cuddling, saying that if cats and dogs can get along, can’t we all get along.  You smile at the cuteness before you, and maybe you get a bit teary eyed at the peaceful sentiment.

Ten minutes later a new email comes in, from someone you’ve never met.  It says ”Thanks for the cute email, Sue!  I hope that ointment is working on your athlete’s foot. - Jill” 

Jill has accidentally hit the dreaded Reply to All button when replying to Sue’s email.  Now all of Sue’s friends know something that she intended to keep between herself and Jill.

How can you avoid this?

When you send mass emails, instead of putting the recipients of your email in the To line, put them in the BCC line. 

Depending on who you talk to, BCC stands for either Blind Carbon Copy, or Blind Courtesy Copy.  Either way, it’s the Blind bit that is important.  It brings about two desirable effects:

1. When you send the email, the other recipients will not know who else you sent it to.  If the recipients are not friends, this is a courteous way to keep people’s email addresses private. 
2. If someone accidentally hits the Reply to All button, instead of the Reply button, the message will still only go to the sender of the original message.  No more accidental mass emails to strangers.

Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.  Do not abuse the BCC line and use it to secretly copy people on messages at the expense of others.

There are still times when it is appropriate to click the Reply to All button, and there are still times when it is better not to use the BCC line.  If you are trying to start a group discussion, or are introducing two people through email, by all means, use the To line or CC line.  But when you get the next great email that needs to go to all your friends (I particularly liked the video about the elephant and the dog), consider using the BCC line.

Can’t see the BCC line in Outlook?

Outlook 2003:

1. Start a new message
2. Click on the arrow next to the Options button on the toolbar.
3. Select BCC.

Outlook 2007

1. Start a new message.
2. Click on the Options tab.
3. Click on the Show BCC button.

Update (3/9/09) - You can find instructions for Outlook Express in the Comments.  Feel free to leave a comment with instructions for another program.