Times Up! Helps you with E-Mails To forward or not to forward? The do’s and dont's

Great Information; we can all learn something from this! Do you really know how to forward e-mails? This was written by a system administrator for a corporate system. It is an excellent message that ABSOLUTELY applies to ALL of us who send e-mails.

Please read the short letter below.

Do you really know how to forward e-mails? 50% do; 50% don't!!!
Do you wonder why you get viruses or junk mail (Spam)?
Do you hate it?

Every time you forward an e- mail there is information left over from the people who got the message before you and sent it to you, namely their e-mail addresses and names! As the messages get forwarded along, the list of addresses builds, and builds, and builds. All it takes is for some poor soul to get a virus, and his or her computer can send that virus to every e-mail address that has come across their computer. Or, someone can take all of those addresses and send junk mail to them or sell them to spammers in the hopes that you will go to the site and they will make five cents for each hit that they sell. That's right, all of that inconvenience over a nickel and because someone included visible email addresses in their forwarded message!!!

How do you stop it? Well, there are four easy steps:

When you Forward an e-mail, DELETE all of the other addresses that appear in the body of the message (at the top). That's right, DELETE them. Highlight them and delete them or backspace them or cut them - whatever it is you know how to do. It only takes a second. You MUST click the "Forward" button first though (send to YOURSELF) and then you will have full editing capabilities for the body and headers of the message. If you don't click on "Forward" first, you won't be able to edit the message at all.

Whenever you send an e-mail to more than one person, do NOT use the To: or Cc: columns for adding e-mail address. Always use the BCC: (Blind Carbon Copy) column !!!!! It is on your computer e-mail system, whether you know it or not. Look for the BCC Function. All e-mail systems have it!!!!!!!! Then, no one can see the other persons on the e-mail list. Do you want your name and e-mail address to be forward all over the world????? I don't think so!!!!

Remove any "FW:" in the subject line. You can re- name the subject if you wish or even correct spelling. ALWAYS hit your Forward button from the actual e- mail you are reading. Ever get those e-mails that you have to open 10 FW: pages to read the one page with the information on it? By Forwarding from the actual, final page you wish someone to view, you stop them from having to open many e-mails just to see what you sent. (Many people will not open all those emails for fear of getting a virus so your message may go unread.) Better still; send your message in the body of the e-mail instead of an attachment. Most people are afraid to open an attachment unless they know it is safe. All e-mail systems let you pick whether to send/forward your e-mail as an attachment or in the body of the message. Search your options function on your e-mail handling system, and select the option that lets you send or forward the message in the body of the e-mail. It is really aggravating to have to open attachment 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on if you leave every address in the header. People who use AOL are the worst ones to send e-mail as attachments. Several other Internet providers are just as bad.

Have you ever gotten an email that is a petition? It states a position and asks you to add your name and address and to forward it to a number of people or your entire Address Book. The email can be forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and email addresses.

FACT: The completed petition is actually worth a couple of bucks to a professional spammer because of the wealth of valid names and email addresses contained therein. If you want to support the petition, send it as your own personal letter to the intended recipient(s). Your position may carry more weight as a personal letter than a laundry list of names and email address on a petition - and, again, you will protect the privacy of those in your Address Book and provide them additional security against viruses and spammers. Please remember this when thinking about forwarding petitions. Just a word to the wise, E-mail petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress or any other municipality. To be acceptable petitions must have a signed signature and full address!!! So please, in the future, let's stop the junk mail and the viruses by working together and respecting the privacy and security of one another. Finally, here's an idea!!!

Other little tips to pass on. Start with this internally. Next share with friends and family.

The Internet is different than snail mail. It is suppose to save us time. As much as we want to be courteous, let’s do it using today’s technology.

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Productively yours,


Karen T. Cynowa
Professional Organizer, Productivity Consultant