Breaking the (Email) Chain
“As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Hitler approaches 1.”
–Godwin’s Law.
“As an email chain grows longer, the probability of one recipient saying something they wish another recipient hadn’t seen (and wish they could take back) approaches 1.”
–Ross’ Corollary to Godwin’s Law (for email chains).
Veteran agents can attest to the truth of statement #2 — and consequently are extremely circumspect about participating in sprawling, unwieldy group email chains (never mind posting anything).
In the haste of a hectic day, shepherding multiple deals at various points of completion, etc., etc., it’s simply too easy for busy agents — and other parties to a deal — to carelessly put something potentially sensitive into the cloud, where it will ricochet off of multiple, unintended eyes.
Fortunately, the solution is relatively painless: click “new” every time you compose an email or response (yup, that requires the additional step of explicitly adding only those people you want to see it).
P.S.: what is the definition of “filing for email bankruptcy?”
When you have an email account with so many unopened emails, it’s easier to simply close the account then to wade through the backlog.
