secretGeek.netNever BCC an Idiot.
'Blind Carbon Copy' (BCC) is the most politically charged firecracker ever dropped into a technological device. And email is the powder keg of the computing world.
So I urge you, politely, but very definitely:
Never, Ever, BCC an idiot.
And you know that everythig I'm about to say is just hypthetical. Right?
(continuing story: Never BCC an idiot)
So let's says, hypothetically, you send an email like this:
from: <help-desk-manager@company-abc.fictional>
To: <jack@customer.fictional>
bcc: "chief support" <fred@company-abc.fictional>
Dear Jack
We really appreciate the feedback you've provided to us about the error messages presented by our product.
It is feedback like yours that helps us move forward, so please do not hesitate to contact us again about any matter involving [product name], at any time of day or night.
After extensive consultation with your personal assistant, and your personal assistant's secretary, and after two site visits from our support personnel, we are now quite certain that the initial cause of your printing problem relates to the absence of paper from your printer.
Please be assured that we have taken every possible step to remedy this situation, and any future attempt to use our application to print to an empty printer will result in a far clearer message that will avoid any possible loss of the valuable time of one of our clients, such as yourself.
I sincerely apologise for any confusion or anger that the ambiguous message ('Please check your printer') may have caused. Due to your company's long standing custom of our product we will be more than happy to reimburse you for the time that was lost due to this confusing message.
Thank you once again for your feedback. Keep up the diligent work!
Kind regards
[name of help-desk-manager]
Reply, within a minute:
from: "chief support" <fred@company-abc.fictional>
to: <help-desk-manager@company-abc.fictional>, <jack@customer.fictional>
Just hope the dumb c*nt learnt a f*cken lesson.
I think that any email client worth its salt would warn the user before letting them hit reply-all on a message that includes BCC's.
This is a step or two beyond your average Jakobi Nielsen 'use-ability'. This is 'welcome-to-unemployment-for-you-and-your-boss-ability'
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