Ok, this is actually directed at NO one on this board or affiliated with TER. Rather this is now my rant on general business contacts, friends, and family and has to do with how e-mail is in general regarded and (mis)used.

This has been building in my head for a while, and the issue drives me nuts, cause it demonstrates how little people think in everyday life.  And as WE have seen, folks have been outed in the hobby because of a disregard of how e-mail can be used for doing harm.

So now I would like to set forth some e-mail rules.

 If I address an e-mail to you, that means I think that the subject matter will appeal to you specifically, or I want you to do something, or I am asking for your advice, council, permission, or acknowledgement in short, there is an action step required from you, maybe as simple as READING the frickin e-mail, but there it is.
 IF I CC you, that means I do not require anything from you.   You may feel free to comment, but actually, I am not really asking you to do anything.  I may also be covering my ass, but that is a totally different issue and probably NOT your concern.  Folks on the CC list are being made aware and informed, they are not required to be active participants in the communication.  
 The CC list is used in the following instances.  Someone is NOT doing their job, and I will cc their boss, such that their boss is aware of the deficiency first hand.  Someone may need the information provided in the e-mail, but has not requested it.  I need a neutral third party observer to referee in case of a disagreement with the other party.
 BCC means that you are getting this ONLY because I think it will interest you, and I know that you do not wish it known that you have the information, you wish our friendship to not be known, or others may not wish you to have the information, my friendship or some other aspect of the communication.    DO NOT REPLY TO ALL as that destroys the confidentiality.
 BCC may also apply where there is a serious disagreement with the addressee of the e-mail and, to be blunt, that party is being Set up.
 It is YOUR responsibility to keep track of your emails. When I author an e-mail to you, I consider the communication important, especially when it contains information important to YOU!  QUIT ASKING ME FOR THE UPTEENTH TIME TO RESEND THE FRICKIN INFO. Ive already sent it a bazillion times to ya, and youve  acknowledged receipt of the information, so YOU look for it in YOUR in bin, and dont expect me to dig it outta my sent bin.  And what makes you think you are going to actually read and keep the information this time, as you didnt all the other times.
 Did ya get my e-mail??? Did ya??? Did ya???   Dude, maybe you didnt get my e-mail address correct it is [email protected].  Sheese before sending sensitive documents, it is wise to send an intro e-mail to be sure that youve the correct e-mail (both back and forth so that each party has the correct e-mail that is IF they are both interested in correspondence.
 Dont PUT ANYTHING IN AN E-MAIL that you would not write in print in a memo. As it will go places you can only dream of..
 e-mails are forever.  Member in the old days of photos if you destroyed the negatives and all prints, you destroyed forever the information contained in that photo???? Member that?  Well, lemme tell ya, you put a picture, email wording, or any other electronic thingy out there, it is forever.  
 Dont send the password, in the same e-mail in which you send the password protected documents   sheese, like why protect it at all???
 I have multiple e-mails  one for friends, family and acquaintances, and ONE FOR FRICKEN work..   DONT send me pictures of naked ladies on my work e-mail and DONT send me sensitive company info on my personal e-mail  hee hee, I also have an e-mail account for the hobby. Use that if you know who you are.
 I love jokes, and stuff. But I dont enjoy the chain e-mails or chain text messages, or chain letters, or chain just about anything. DO NOT SEND THEM TO Me..
 Do not e-mail me if you think I should respond immediately.  Pick up the freaking phone, or come see me in person if it is that urgent.

..the REPLY TO ALL.

I really don't care if John Doe can or can't make the meeting.  Just let the organizer know, and they'll bring one less freakin' donut.

The REPLY TO ALL'ers are (at least in this context), to a person, self-absorbed beyond belief....."I'm sorry (to all) that I won't be able to make it that day.  I'll be in the French Riviera with Jennifer Anniston."

A committee of 30 people receive an email notice and if all of them reply to all, well....just think of the bandwidth consumption!

There are too many trees on this planet, so print out every email you receive.

Plus it's a good idea to fax whatever you email as well, just to be safe.

And, because people generally have way too much time on their hands, it's always good to follow up with a phone call to ask if they got the fax and email

If you don't get through on the phone, just leave a long voice mail and tell them you'll fax and email it again.

Isn't it wonderful how all these modern marvels are making it look like we are busy and can't take on any new projects!

...our lady friends can chime in on how inconsierate their potential "suitors" can be along both lines.....though I suppose the subjects have been worked over plenty in the past.

There's nothing I adore more than a 90-second voicemail in which the point in never arrived until the last 3 seconds: "Call me!"

The stupid emails with inspiring notes...and then a note at the end that says:

"God will bless you if you forward this to 15 people"


Mind you there are usually a few hundred people on the recipient list, and I have read the Bible through a few times....I don't recall there ever being any Scripture that alludes to my being blessed and highly favored if I forward this email to 15 people.

The reply all is really really annoying as hell...esp the jokes and I end up on peoples email list that I don't know.

OMG I could go on for years about how annoying RING BACK TONES ARE...I am showing my age, but when I am calling a person for my day job purposes...that shit is annoying. Why anyone in business would have a ring back tone or music on their CORPORATE cell voicemail is beyond me.

......or how stupid the really crappy music on the voicemail is.....why do I have to listen to that? esp on a company sponsored phone.


Or the voicemail that is so long they have to call back and leave another voice mail. I just push 7 and delete it.

Thankfully, I only had to go to corporate roughly 6 times a year at 4 days clips. And even then, I had to watch peeps in their custom designed cubicles writing company business emails to each other, where they were no more than 20-30 feet from each other. Get off your ass and come talk to me for Christ sake.

And the companies now giving crackberries and all kinds of other crap so that the peeps are texting all day. I say if they are caught texting on company time give them one of the old bricks below that the company first gave to me. Shit I could not even program my ATF's number in that brick.

are no more interested in actually meeting than they are in having a shit sammich for lunch! One man in particular has been sending me pointless emails for over a year now and has yet to make a gd appt grrrrrrrr

The more bread you have, the less shit you have to eat. lol

You email me asking a question or for information which I gave you several times over the previous days, weeks or months...

I send you the original, with the original dates and  (if I'm feeling nice) highlight the relevant sections. If I'm feeling frisky (usually) I just tell you to read what I sent you months ago...

The insidious "Reply All" feature ended up getting over 200 computers from my buddies former gov't contractor company confiscated by the Feds.  Some Colonel replied to all with a classified document attached to which only a few people addressed to in the original email had clearance to see.  Instead it went to nearly everyone in the company as well.  I think all of those computers are still sitting in the basement of some government facility waiting to be destroyed.

Is the fact that you chose to use so much bandwidth to post it here!  Thanks so much for the lesson on e-mail etiquette.  But, WTF?  Who do you think gives a shit about what bothers you about e-mail?  I'm sure the Mods looked long and hard at this to find some hidden reason that this crap should have even been posted! Probably due to the fact that so many providers are so bad and inconsiderate with emails, that there was a hobby connection!
And now that you've wasted my time reading the little of it I did, you caused me to waste more time to tell you what a waste this thread was!
Thanks!