Reply To None

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I have a new pet peeve.  Actually, I have about 20 of them, and according to my wife, I'm nothing but a petty complainer, but nevermind that.  Read about the peeve.  I think we need to start a petition that we can send to ALL email-software vendors to request that they remove the REPLY TO ALL button from their software.  Never was a worse feature added to a program, really.  That REPLY TO ALL button is far worse than the DUH button a friend gave me for my keyboard years ago, because it actually works.  The reason it's so bad is because people are magnetically drawn to it for absolutely no sane reason.  My coworkers seem to think that if replying to the sender with schedule information or other relatively useless detail is appropriate, then it must be 20x more appropriate to cheerfully include the other 20 people on the message.  This happens all day, every day, to the point that my email box is brimming with threads such as the following (all REPLIED TO ALL).

SENDER: We need to have a meeting.  Please provide me with your available times.

{aside}You know, email programs have calendars and features that search for freetime, but folks would much rather spam entire groups to ask them when they're free.  What year is this, again?  1999????!!{aside}

ME: {replied to sender only}  Read my calendar freetime.
REPLIER1:  I'm free at 9:00 and 2:00, but I'm getting a colonoscopy on Tuesday.  I'll need to stay home on Monday because I'm drinking lots of yummy fluids as I prepare for my exam.
SENDER: Oh, that's too bad, I hope it all goes well.  We should sell our software to your doctor.
REPLIER2: My wife has a scary rash that I think might be contagious.  Maybe it's swine flu.
REPLIER3: 12pm
SENDER: OK, not everyone is free at a good time, so can we meet at 10:00?
REPLIER1: I said I'm busy then.
REPLIER2: What's the best cream for itchy rashes?
REPLIER3: 12pm
...
You get the idea...

Keep in mind that when you carry a blackberry, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE SENSELESS REPLIES CAUSES MY BELT TO BUZZ IN THE MIDDLE OF MY CLIENT PRESENTATION.  By the end of Thursday's presentation, my right hip was so thoroughly massaged from the blackberry buzzing that I considered trying to attach the blackberry to my low back just for some tension relief.

You can't make this stuff up.

Stop the madness.

I move that we also petition that email-software companies to replace that feature with a handy new REPLY TO NONE button.  Now that one would be awesome.
I like to share what I learn, and I like to learn from others.

Comments

Jenn said…
Ha! Hilarious. I even read it aloud to Kenny, we got a good laugh out of it.
It's all about BCC. Then you don't have to worry about reply-to-all (of course, only the sender can control that).
May 30, 2009 at 10:46 PM
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