Beware the “Reply All” Button

I haven’t ever been a victim of a “reply all malfunction.” That said, I know several people who have been and I would bet you do too. Today I got an email from an academic advisor. It went to an email list of at least 500 people. The advisor mentioned that she was canceling her normal advising hours to go to a conference. Shortly after getting that email, I received an email from someone who had “replied all” to the initial message. It said something like, “Hey Mary, you’ll want comfy shoes for that conference…and a large bottle of vodka.” I can only picture the face of the poor “reply all-er” when she realized her email had gone out to at least 500 budding MBAs. I have seen reply-alls that were annoying, embarrassing and mean. I have seen graphic personal details unintentionally revealed to mothers and grandmothers. I only hope that my enjoyment of today’s reply all incident and the subsequent blogging doesn’t karmicly destine me for my own incident… Then there was the time a girl who worked for me a few years back sent an email to the entire company, executives included, that said, “I have quite a few excess paper clips at my desk, let me know if you would like any.” I got a call from an executive shortly after the email. He requested I educate my employee on when it’s appropriate to email 500 people in 15 different states. The message would have fallen on deaf (more like clueless) ears, so I didn’t bother. Perhaps that is why my current employer restricts emails to the entire company unless “Corporate Communications” has reviewed them… P.S. If you search “Reply all stories,” you can read of other fun incidents!