<p>There has been a lot talk about the problems with e-mail lately, including Microsoft offering to remove the Reply All button from Outlook and a focus on programs like Burn Note, KickNotes and OneShar that destroy e-mail after a certain period of time, a move that could be a problem for agencies that require archiving.</p><p>The biggest problem with e-mail slip-ups isn't in the sending, but in the reply. Users hit the Reply All button instead of Reply, writing something that gets them in trouble because they think they are having a private conversation. Or, people just hit Reply All to a mass e-mailing and bombard everyone with pointless messages. I have to admit I got burned a little bit recently myself, though not in the way you might think.</p><p>One day when I was under the weather, I wrote a mostly informative e-mail to a list of people, and I didn't think to use the best tool we have at our disposal: the Bcc (blind carbon copy) field. Instead, I put everyone's e-mail into the normal Cc (carbon copy) field. The topic was mildly controversial, but again, I wasn't really seeking comment, just trying to keep a team informed about a topic.</p><p>Well, you can guess what happened. Someone on the list decided to let me know his opinion on the issue, which was fine, except he hit Reply All. Thus ensued a major discussion/debate with everyone chiming in and offering points and counterpoints. A lot of time and e-mail space was wasted.</p><p><a href="http://gcn.com/blogs/emerging-tech/2013/02/avoid-reply-all-with-bcc.aspx">Keep reading...</a></p>