An Open Letter to Those Who FWD Emails

Hello!

I’d like to keep my email address known only to direct contacts, and this should explain how you can help me keep it that way. The mass email you send me and your other contacts will most likely contain my email address, and who knows who else will get it once they forward it, their contacts forward it, and so on… Somewhere down the road, a spammer will get a hold of these email addresses, and all of us, including you, will suffer for it (Junk emails or SPAM). Keep this tip in mind, and everyone will thank you for it.

Please, use the “Bcc:” (blind carbon copy) field instead of the “To:” field, and put your own email address in the “To:” field to send mass email next time. You will get another copy of the email, but you’re doing your contacts a great favor. Just delete the copy you receive.

Also, it’s absolutely crucial that you DON’T forget to delete the list of email addresses you find in the body of the message. There should be no trace of email addresses or email headers in the message itself, unless you REALLY need them there.

Chain emails are okay as long as you keep other people’s privacy in mind.