Faith Salie: Tips on that dreaded "reply all"

On the matter of email etiquette, we have a cautionary tale from our Faith Salie:

What I’m about to tell you is not an opinion; it is a public service announcement.  It’s time to “reply all” responsibly. 

Please, for the love of all things holy and efficient, consider hitting “reply all” for your emails on which someone is cc’d.

“Cc” stands for carbon copy.  It means all the people in the “cc” column are getting the same information as the folks in the “To” line.  So even if you’re not in charge, you’re informed.

Cc means everyone’s fate is now entangled.

When you hit “reply all,” you’re including all the folks on the cc train. You’re keeping people in the loop, so no one spends his life copying and forwarding. No one has to say, “Phil moved our meeting to 9.45?? Nobody told me.”  And no one has to say, “Wait. I thought you were bringing the sleeping bags.”

Your reply all behavior can say a lot about you.

I once accidentally replied all and sent an email complaining about my then-boyfriend to a bunch of strangers.  It was meant for my friend who was a bride, but I ended up addressing her entire wedding party. Her marriage lasted; my relationship didn’t. I was young and trigger happy.

Here’s a simple guideline: if five names or fewer are cc’d, just go nuts and hit “reply all.” 

But if more than five folks appear in the cc line, pause. Give it a thought.  Some people are promiscuous and cc dozens of people who don’t need to know each other’s business. When your daughter’s second grade teacher cc’s all the parents in the class about the upcoming field trip, do you need to hit reply all so that 43 adults know your daughter objects to taxidermy in dioramas on ethical grounds?

Okay, also? If you’re ever bcc’d, do NOT go near reply all.  “Bcc” is “blind carbon copy.”  It means you’re a fly on the wall, dude! If you hit reply all, it’s beyond bad etiquette to out the person who gave you the superpower of invisibility. It’s like screaming “I’M A SPY!”

Look, we all think Al Gore invented email so we could save time and save paper, to save trees. And that includes phone trees. 

Let’s get it together and hit reply all responsibly.

Cc you later!

     
For more info:

• ”Approval Junkie: Adventures in Caring Too Much” by Faith Salie (Crown Archtype); Also available in eBook and Digital Audio Download formats
• faithsalie.com

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• Faith Salie on a life well curated
• Some frank words about profanity
• Faith Salie on the Presidential Cookie Bake-off
  
• Confessions of an approval junkie
• On a first-name basis
  
• Death by selfie
  
• Donald Trump, “The Ugly American”
  
• Keeping up those not-so-great expectations
  
• ”Whom”: The object of affection for the grammar police
  
• Don’t take selfies of your food
  
• Faith Salie shares her pet peeve on “oversharing”
• Spending your vacation days is good for America
• Note to award-winners: Watch your mouth
  
• On speaking with “vocal fry”