Lesson #2: How E-Mail Works

Things I learned at my first job
(Second in a series)

E-mail is a strange thing around an office. You learn very quickly who you can reach by e-mail, and who you really can't. You also learn common mistakes, and some not-so-common ones.

It's amazing how many people fumble with reply vs. reply all; forgetting attachments; forwarding things they shouldn't; and many other basics.

You might think that something like e-mail would be second nature to people in this age of information and communication. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and I've learned the importance of how e-mail works, and the disastrous results of what happens when e-mail goes astray.

One of my favorite stories of e-mail foibles involves a friend's company, not mine, but it's nonetheless hilarious. It goes like this: last year on Veteran's Day, upper management sent out an e-mail thanking veterans for their service to the country. Thoughtful and kind, right?

Apparently not. One disgruntled employee replied to ALL — though it's unclear whether this was intentional — with a truculent message about the company's misplaced gratitude and hypocrisy. (This person was quietly terminated less than a week later — and justly, in my opinion.)

Throughout the years at my job, there have been more stories relating to this subject than I can even remember. Obviously, I will protect the innocent by not naming names, but I can recite these important lessons, which I have learned from real incidents:

When you are replying to a company-wide e-mail, be sure not to press "reply all." There is just no reason this should happen, and chances are good that you're relaying some inanity to people who don't even know who you are.

Do not accidentally send dirty images to your entire department by pressing "reply all" instead of "reply." This is inappropriate, especially if it's your first couple of weeks on the job.

In e-mail, USING ALL CAPS means you are screaming at someone - the same goes for excessive bolding, coloring, italics, etc.

When you see an exchange of comments over e-mail and feel you would like to resolve the situation, keep reading to be sure someone else hasn't already resolved it...three days ago.

Don't ever — EVER — e-mail something to a coworker that you wouldn't want forwarded to the entire company, even if you trust this person. Not only is it extremely easy to press the "forward" button if they suddenly decide to hate you, but accidents do happen, and you'd have no one to blame but yourself.

Important: Supervisors DO read your e-mail.

When you are writing a rant about a coworker, be sure you don't actually e-mail it TO that coworker. (Obvious, but important.)

When employees have similar names: again, be sure you are e-mailing the correct person. The company president might have a good sense of humor, but he probably doesn't need to know that you're forwarding pictures of weird naked guys climbing buildings.

All these are good lessons to know and remember. Some of them I had to learn the hard way, and others I just learned by laughing at others who made these mistakes.

Regardless, it's important to know one thing: e-mail is an extremely easy way to make a strong impression on people, whether it's a good or a bad one. Information technology is not getting any easier to understand or use, so it's best to just bite the bullet and learn what you need to in order to get around.

Although, even if they put bright red, blinking lights around the "reply all" button and screeching alarms warned you not to press it, I'm sure some fool still would. That's just the way life is.