Don’t Brush Off Email Privacy

Do you show a blatant disregard for your contact’s privacy? How would you feel if your contacts whether business or personal, decided to take your phone number and give it out to strangers? Strangers who you don’t know! Strangers who may use your phone number to contact you about something you’re not interested in or worse yet, who may sell your phone number to telemarketing companies to do the same.

The same thing happens with email addresses every single day. We’ve all had this happen to us and it’s not O.K. Each day we receive messages or forwarded email from well intentioned onliners listing all those they are sending to in the To: field. And by doing so they are visibly displaying their contact’s email addresses to strangers!

If you do this and are thinking “no big deal” you are so wrong! If the only thing all the folks you are sending to have in common is you, you have breached your contact’s privacy by publicizing their emails to people they don’t know. Talk about showing a complete disregard for their privacy not to mention your lack of tech savvy!

Whenever you are sending to a group of onliners, put your email address in the To: field and everyone else’s in the Bcc: field and protect their email addresses from unnecessary exposure. Through my email etiquette site, www.NetManners.com, I get inquires on a daily basis from folks who have been on the receiving end of such email and there are two issues they ask me about:

1. How do I let this person know I don’t appreciate them publicizing my email address to people I don’t know? What were they thinking!?
2. Is it O.K. to email all the other people whose address is in the To: field along with mine about my business or service?

So as you can see, your contacts not only do not appreciate their email addresses being made public without their permission but there are those that assume they can then spam those addresses because they are visible! By not respecting your contact’s privacy you are in fact opening them up to additional unwanted email.

Part of this problem is the Bcc: is not in your face with some programs. In some cases it isn’t easy to find and you have to search for the Bcc: option. I use Eudora where the Bcc: field is visible just waiting for you to put in email addresses. However, for other software and Web based sites, here is what you do:

First, start a new message, then:

• In Outlook, if Bcc: isn’t showing, create a message, and from the View menu, click Bcc: Field.
• In Outlook Express, click View >All Headers.
• In Netscape, click the TO: button, then double-click Bcc:.
• In AOL, put the Bcc: addresses in the “Copy To” box, using parentheses and separating each address with a comma.
• In Yahoo!, click Add Bcc:.
• In Gmail, click Add Bcc:.
• Bcc on Mac mail: Open a new email. In the bottom left of the title block is the Customize button. a menu opens, click on “Bcc Address Field”. This will appear on all future emails.
• Seamonkey: Click on the “To:” button and highlight “Bcc”.

The Bcc: feature should be used when emailing a bunch of onliners who don’t know each other because you don’t want to publish other’s email addresses without their permission.

Show you “get it” and respect your contact’s privacy! Wherever Bcc: may hide, find it and use it!

Business & E-mail Address Privacy

Do you show a blatant disregard for your contact’s privacy? You know what I mean. You get an e-mail from a business associate or contact with an arm’s length of e-mail addresses in the To: field.

Let’s use this analogy… This is conducive to taking your phone number and giving it out to strangers. Strangers who you don’t know! Strangers who may use your phone number to contact you about something you’re not interested in or worse yet, who may sell your phone number to telemarketing companies to do the same.

The same thing happens with e-mail addresses every single day. We’ve all had this happen to us and it’s not O.K. In particular when it comes to business and where you are trying to promote trust and reliability. Each day we receive messages or forwarded e-mails from well intentioned business contacts listing all those they are sending to in the To: field.

If you do this and are thinking “no big deal” you are so wrong! If the only thing all those addresses you are sending to have in common is you, you have breached your contact’s privacy by publicizing their e-mails to people they don’t know. Talk about showing a complete disregard for their privacy not to mention your lack of tech savvy!

Whenever you are sending to a group of onliners, put your e-mail address in the To: field and everyone else’s in the Bcc: field and protect their email addresses from unnecessary exposure.

I get inquires on a daily basis from business onliners who have been on the receiving end of such e-mail and there are two issues they ask me about:

1. How do I let this person know I don’t appreciate them publicizing my e-mail address to people I don’t know? What were they thinking!?
2. Is it O.K. to e-mail all the other people whose address is in the To: field along with mine about my business or service?

So as you can see, your contacts not only do not appreciate their e-mail addresses being made public without their permission but there are those that assume they can then spam those addresses because they are visible! By not respecting your contact’s privacy you are in fact opening them up to additional unwanted e-mail.

Part of this problem is the BCc: is not in your face with some programs. In some cases it isn’t easy to find and you have to search for the BCc: option. I use Eudora where the BCc: field is visible just waiting for you to put in e-mail addresses. However, for other software and Web based sites, here is what you do:

First, start a new message, then:

• In Outlook, if Bcc: isn’t showing, create a message, and from the View menu, click Bcc: Field.
• In Outlook Express, click View >All Headers.
• In Netscape, click the TO: button, then double-click Bcc:.
• In AOL, put the Bcc: addresses in the “Copy To” box, using parentheses and separating each address with a comma.
• In Yahoo!, click Add Bcc:.
• In Gmail, click Add Bcc:.
• Bcc on Mac mail: Open a new email. In the bottom left of the title block is the Customize button. a menu opens, click on “Bcc Address Field”. This will appear on all future emails.
• Seamonkey: Click on the “To:” button and highlight “Bcc”.

The BCc: feature should be used when emailing a group of contacts who don’t know each other because you don’t want to publish their e-mail addresses without their permission.

Show you “get it” and respect your contact’s privacy! Wherever BCc: may hide, find it and use it!

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Never Spam Addresses in the To: Field

Many think that by having all their contact’s e-mail addresses displayed in the To: field (particularly folks who do not know each other) is no big deal.

One of the top questions that I get asked about almost on a daily basis is if it is “O.K.” to e-mail those addresses in the To: field about a new business or commercial enterprise. The answer is a resounding NO! Can you say Spam?

I get forwards from business associates all day long who add me to their list and send along non-business related, touchy-feeling and emotionally charged political forwards. Because all those addresses are visible to me in no way gives me tacit permission to e-mail them about my services.

Even if you are simply responding to a controversial or emotional topic that you were included on by having your e-mail address included in the To: field, (stay away from that Reply to All button) doesn’t mean that those who don’t know you want to hear your opinion. Believe me — they don’t!

It’s simple… If you don’t know the person behind the e-mail address, you don’t e-mail them. If you are going to e-mail anyone, you e-mail the original sender who breached their contact’s privacy by exposing them to strangers. Rather than put everyone in the To: field they should have all been listed in the BCc: field.

So it is clear, this is not an issue of time or being lazy. It is a matter of understanding the technology that you are using to treat those who trust you with their e-mail address with consideration for their privacy.

And, don’t be surprised if those irresponsible forwarders get nasty or turn into their evil-twin because you try to point out the errs of their ways. When that happens, send them to this article on my main E-mail Etiquette site:
Irresponsible E-mail Forwarders Exposed!

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