Postcard from Hallmark

[Bob Jefferson]

[Bob Jefferson]

As a postscript to this, I recently received a chain-letter email concerning Madeleine McCann, with the usual exhortation to 'pass it on to everyone you know'. As far as I can tell, on this occasion it was a genuine attempt to publicise key elements of the case and to seek information, allegedly originating from an uncle of the missing girl. Should I have passed it on? I'm not sure.

The point is that I received this message, from someone I know, along with 25 other people I didn't know. However, I now have their email addresses because they were all in the 'To' field instead of 'Bcc'. It's an elementary netiquette faux pas - you wouldn't publish other people's telephone numbers without their consent and the same goes with email addresses.

I wasn't particularly bothered - it's not the first time it has happened to me and I'm sure it won't be the last - but one of the recipients felt strongly enough to respond rather curtly.

Just a point to bear in mind.

[bearcub]

Detest these type of emails and delete them as soon as I get them.

Some "may" be sent for genuine reasons, but the "send this on to 25 others or else..." emotional blackmail always pi$$es me off.

[arachnid]