5 Rules for
Forwarding E-mail
by: Judith Kallos
Forwarding of e-mails is one of the topics
I get contacted about the most. And, one which also causes hurt
feelings and misunderstandings more than any other topic. Daily,
e-mails flow in from onliners asking about a "nice way" of telling
someone they care about, relative, friend or associate to not forward
attachments, chain e-mails, political commentary or the jokes that are
so prevalent online.
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Netizens are afraid to ask others to
stop and those who are asked to stop, no matter how nicely, get
offended and feel as though their thoughtfulness is not appreciated.
But let's think about this a moment. How really thoughtful is it to
click the forward arrow, then a bunch of e-mail addresses and hit
send? Well, your brain had to "think" about those steps but does that
make the effort truly "thoughtful." I don't think so...
Here are the 5 Rules of Forwarding
E-mails that those who are being truly thoughtful follow. If everyone
followed them all the problems associated with forwarded e-mails could
be avoided. Sticking to these guidelines will assist both those
thinking they are thoughtful and those who don't want to appear
otherwise:
1. Don't forward anything without
editing out all the forwarding >>>>, e-mail addresses, headers and
commentary from all the other forwarders. Don't |
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make folks look
amongst all the gobbly-gook to see what it is you thought was worth
forwarding. If you must forward, only forward the actual "guts" or
content of the e-mail that you are of the opinion is valuable.
2. If you cannot take the time to write
a personal comment at the top of your forwarded e-mail to the person
you are sending to - then you shouldn't forward it at all.
3. Think carefully about if what you
are forwarding will be of value (accurate information), appreciated
(something the recipient needs) or humorous (do they have the same
sense of humor as you do) to the person on the other side. Or do you
just think it is worthy? If you cannot think of why the person you
are forwarding to would like to receive the e-mail - then don't
forward it.
4. It should go without saying that
forwarding of chain letters (regardless how |
noble the topic may
seem), virus warnings or anything that says "forward to everyone you
know" simply shouldn't be forwarded because it is plain old B.S. or
commentary that many will not appreciate. But I have to say it
because folks do so anyway.
5. If you must forward to more than one
person, put your e-mail address in the TO: field and all the others
you are sending to in the BCC field to protect their e-mail address
from being published to those they do not know. This is a serious
privacy issue. Again, be sure to take the time to type a nice little
comment about why you are forwarding the e-mail to the recipient(s)
at the top of your forward.
6. The above 5 rules will help qualify if
an e-mail is worth forwarding and the right way to do so if it is. If
one cannot make these extra efforts, then they really have no excuse
to get mad or have hurt feelings when asked to stop. And if asked to
stop forwarding, don't get mad; just realize the person on the other
side certainly has the right to make that request.
7. At the end of the day, if you fear
hurting someone's feelings by asking them to stop forwarding you
e-mail, know they probably meant well, were really thinking of you,
were trying to make a point - ahhh, just hit delete!
| About The Author Judith Kallos is an authoritative
and good-humored Technology Muse.
Check out her popular Netiquette
site @:
http://www.NetManners.com
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