Email manners

The thing I detest the most since the invention of the email is the explosion of spam and forwarded mails. While spam can often be controlled in webmail clients by adjusting your email settings, it is almost a hopeless situation when it comes to forwarded mail.

Not a day goes by when my inboxes in my various webmail clients don't contain some forwarded mail. If it comes from a relative or friend, syempre I can't categorize their email address as spam unless I'm willing to risk missing the chance that they will actually send me a real personal note containing their own thoughts, expressions, feelings and ideas, right? (Asa pa ako.)

What I don't like about forwarded mail (aside from them being usually idiotic jokes, boring anecdotes of other people, or chain letters which say you will receive some good news the minute you forward the same email to other people!) is how the sender usually exposes your email addresses to other recipients. Parang, kilala ko ba 'yang ibang tao na pinagsi-CC mo? Don't these frequent forwarders see the BCC feature on their email composer?

To those who still don't know what it is, BCC means Blind Carbon Copy. It is a means to send email to multiple recipients without exposing their email addresses especially to people who don't know them. It's a privacy issue, okay? Think about it, do you want me to send your cellphone number to 20 other people without asking your permission? It's the same thing.

So I gently remind these frequent forwarders that I appreciate their email but to please use the BCC feature on their email next time. Some will email back that they promise to do so, but lo and behold! another one will again send her forwarded mail with all the recipients listed and exposed! Ang tigas ng ulo da vah?

Syempre I don't want to be rude naman. But for those who really don't get it, I send this link Thanks.No which has helped reduce my number of frequent forwarders. When all else fails, I just categorize the nutheads' email address as SPAM so whatever they send me will end up in spam/junk folder. Or I automatically delete the mail. Sorry nalang kayo, ang kukulit nyo e! (Believe it or not, one person actually asked me why I wasn't responding to her forwarded mail. Hello? Hilo ka ba?)

Personally I think people who keep forwarding mail just have too much time on their hands. (I know one who does this about three times a week!) They're probably bored with their own insignificant lives that they have to forward mail to make them feel like they're doing something worthwhile in the world. Why don't you just volunteer to build a home for the poor kaya? Or save the whales! Maybe help stop climate change?

But if they think it's a way for them to keep in touch with their friends and relatives, then they're dead wrong. It's an annoying habit that should be done away with. I mean, why don't they just write a real personal note telling the recipients how they're doing, da vah? I'd rather read an email from my buddy who tells me about the recent restaurant he's visited, or an email from a friend who makes kwento about her latest boyfriend conquests. At least even if we don't see or talk to each other everyday, we're still updated about each others lives. That's keeping in touch!

So read my lips kids...forwarded email is JUNK! Stop mailbox pollution!