Being able to forward messages and share information instantly is one of the blessings of email, but it’s also a curse, as many people can attest. A simple, honest mistake can turn into a company-wide conflagration once someone decides everyone should know about it. A negative comment expressed in private can turn into an HR nightmare when someone politely decides to forward the criticism to the person being discussed. Rumors become rampant as people rush to send them to everyone they know.
Here are some guidelines to avoid excessive forwarding.
Think of two people before you forward an email: the author of the item you’re forwarding, and the person you’re forwarding to. First ask yourself if the person who wrote it would like other people to read it. If you’re not sure, ask or err on the side of caution and don’t forward.
Next, and equally important, realize that when you hit Send you are sending a meta-message to all your recipients. You are saying, “What I have to tell you is so important that you should spend your valuable time reading it.” Ask yourself honestly: is this prank, consumer alert, cartoon, political statement, gossip, example of someone’s stupidity, or other questionable material really worth taking people’s time with?
Perhaps the article you are forwarding is of genuine interest to your reader; if so, shoot. However, think before you send. As the gregg reference manual says, “Ask yourself if the person or people you plan to forward the message to have a pressing need to see it.”
Some etiquette points about forwarding:
— Don’t force people to click on a series of attachments to get to the actual message you’re sending. Make it easy for your readers.
–protect the privacy of previous recipients. If the forward contains the email addresses of previous recipients, remove those names before forwarding. Previous recipients probably don’t want their email addresses sent all over the place just because someone decided to forward.
o The exception to this would be if you are forwarding something within your organization and want others to know who else received the email.
— If you’re forwarding to a group of people who don’t know each other, protect the privacy of their email addresses by using the BCC function. List the names of the recipients on the BCC line and the A the line will simply say “undisclosed recipients.”
— If you’re forwarding to a group you know well, go ahead and list all the names on the A line. Then everyone will know who else received the message and resist the urge to forward it to other group members.
Forwarded emails clog up the overloaded inboxes of millions of people. They can cause problems where they don’t need to exist. They can also be tools for sharing valuable information in a useful way. Only you can decide whether the message you are about to forward should be sent. All I ask is that you pause and consider the question.