# Don't respond to the entire list serve when replying to an email **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 14, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256 "2010-08-14T16:33:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/21 "2010-08-15T15:47:47Z")
> [@Waffle\_Decider](#): > > Depends on what kind of email and what kind of list. Sometimes it is inappropriate to reply to all, but sometimes it is inappropriate not to. In the software development world, email lists often serve the role of a discussion forum. It is considered bad manner to not reply to the list. As an analogy, the SDMB would be a very boring place indeed if everyone only replies to the OP, wouldn’t it. All you see would be questions but no answers. > > Also as mentioned upthread, if this is a email that requires an action item that may be taken care of by any of the recipients, wouldn’t a quick reply to all that says “I’ll take care of it” an easy way of keeping things coordinated? Damn you! How dare you bring logic and common sense to a Pit thread! 😉 I will agree that it makes sense under certain circumstances. However, IME, “reply to all” happens under the following circumstances: [ul] [li]Genuine cluelessness on the part of the reply-er, who doesn’t understand that not everyone needs to read his response;[/li][li]Attention-whoring on the part of the reply-er, who assumes that every word he types is a gem and that everyone should behold the grandeur and majesty of his output; and[/li][li]Passive-aggression from someone who can’t quite bring himself to say something negative to one or two people, so he sends it to the entire list.[/ul][/li] Now for my list-related gripes. When you build a mailing list, please use the blind-copy feature. I don’t want a bunch of total strangers to have my e-mail address any more than they want me to have theirs. And please respect the wishes of those who ask you to remove them. I told you to your face that I was no longer interested in working with your group, but I kept getting e-mails. (I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the reason I left was because he’s a clueless idiot who gives me a serious case of the willies.) And, finally, my super-strength venom is reserved for people who are on these aforementioned lists who feel the need to add everyone else on the list to their own address books. No problemo, I love to get idiotic, debunked political spam, glurge, and cute pictures of happy fuzzy kittens and puppies in my e-mail. I have no idea how many people are in my kill filter, but ain’t none of ‘em gettin’ out. ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/22 "2010-08-15T16:53:45Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Damn you! How dare you bring logic and common sense to a Pit thread! 😉 No problem. I aim to please! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/23 "2010-08-15T18:08:40Z")
Here’s a paraphrased version of an email thread I was part of at work that very nearly led me to start a Pit thread of my own: > [@](#): > > From: Manager > To: Several Developers > > Could the people on the “To:” list fill in the following table for their bug reports and send it to me? > > ```auto > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > > ``` > [@](#): > > From: Dumbass1 > To: Manager > CC: Developers > > ```auto > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > .... > > ``` > > –Original Email– > Could the people on the “To:” list fill in the following table for their bug reports and send it to me? > > ```auto > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > > ``` > [@](#): > > From: Dumbass2 > To: Manager > CC: Developers > > ```auto > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > .... > > ``` > > –Original Email– > Could the people on the “To:” list fill in the following table for their bug reports and send it to me? > > ```auto > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > > ``` The first two were bad enough. I nearly lost it when I got the following: > [@](#): > > From: Dumbass3 > To: Manager > CC: Developers > > ```auto > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > .... > > ``` > > –Original Email– > From: Dumbass2 > To: Manager > CC: Developers > > ```auto > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > .... > > ``` > > –Original Email– > Could the people on the “To:” list fill in the following table for their bug reports and send it to me? > > ```auto > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > > ``` Ok, so presented with a clear example of what not to do, you go ahead and do it? Christ. I wasn’t the only person annoyed: > [@](#): > > From: Smartass > To: Manager > CC: Developers > > ```auto > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > 26565 | Developers use "Reply-All" unnecessarily | smartass | Seems to affect all versions | Not yet; please merge the fix everywhere ASAP > > ``` > [@](#): > > From: Supreme Dumbass > To: Manager, Smartass > CC: Developers > > ```auto > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > > ``` > > — Original Email — > From: Smartass > To: Manager > CC: Developers > > ```auto > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > 26565 | Developers use "Reply-All" unnecessarily | smartass | Seems to affect all versions | Not yet; please merge the fix everywhere ASAP > > ``` And this is why I, despite being only two years out of school and thus quite a junior person in the company, average 60 emails per work day. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/24 "2010-08-16T05:43:51Z")
> [@Waffle\_Decider](#): > > Depends on what kind of email and what kind of list. Sometimes it is inappropriate to reply to all, but sometimes it is inappropriate not to. In the software development world, email lists often serve the role of a discussion forum. It is considered bad manner to not reply to the list. As an analogy, the SDMB would be a very boring place indeed if everyone only replies to the OP, wouldn’t it. All you see would be questions but no answers. > > Also as mentioned upthread, if this is a email that requires an action item that may be taken care of by any of the recipients, wouldn’t a quick reply to all that says “I’ll take care of it” an easy way of keeping things coordinated? I’ve never seen a mailstorm begin from this kind of response. More typically, someone uses a wrong alias (which is what we call them) and sends a mail to the entire company saying a picnic for one department has been canceled. That’s an innocent mistake, and the person often send a mail to everyone apologizing. The clueless people are the ones who have to tell everyone they shouldn’t be getting this mail, or who don’t take five seconds to look up how to get off a list and send mail to everyone asking to be removed instead. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/25 "2010-08-16T07:10:49Z")
Meh. I find PSXer fun. Sure, he uses antiquated technology, but his stuff usually is relevant. I call it less trolling, and more role playing. And he breaks character enough that I’m fine with it. The only thing I’m concerned about is whether his roleplay is to disguise his posting style, which would reveal him to be a sock. And I only care because I don’t want to see him go. As for the topic- While Listserve and other mailings lists have mostly fallen by the wayside, it still happens in groups. Yes, there are legitimate reasons to reply to all, but many people always do it. Less common is with a forward, where people mistakenly use Reply to All instead of just Reply. The better analogy, though, is using the Facebook wall for personal comments. It’s essentially the same thing, since every one of that person’s friends are going to be notified of that conversation. Even with the new feature that allows the sender to hide a wall post from people who shouldn’t see it, way too many people do not stop to think whether a comment would be better public or private. The more things change, the more they stay the same. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/26 "2010-08-16T13:56:38Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Must… resist… urge to multiquote everyone before me. > [@Lumpy](#): > > What’s a list serve? (:p) > [@supergoose](#): > > > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > > > Must… resist… urge to multiquote everyone before me. > > I wish you hadn’t resisted it. That would’ve been funny. > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > > [@supergoose](#): > > > > I wish you hadn’t resisted it. That would’ve been funny. > > I felt it would tempt the mod hammer. Wasting electrons or some such crime. > [@Kyrie\_Eleison](#): > > Dude, the 80s called, and they’re out of you! Are you going to be ranting about AOLers ruining the Internet next? > > Here’s a helpful hint for the newbies: [listserv](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LISTSERV) > [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > > [@Kyrie\_Eleison](#): > > > > Dude, the 80s called, and they’re out of you! Are you going to be ranting about AOLers ruining the Internet next? > > > > Here’s a helpful hint for the newbies: [listserv](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LISTSERV) > > Dude! He’s [20](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12780358&postcount=77), he wasn’t even alive in the 80s!\* > Maybe his “friend” was, though? > \*The previous post is light-hearted in tone. I actually agree with **Kyrie** and, for the most part, think **PSXer** is a dildo. > > PS: Thanks, **PSXer**! For finally starting a pit thread so I can call you a dildo! 🙂 > [@Rigamarole](#): > > > [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > > > Dude! He’s [20](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12780358&postcount=77), he wasn’t even alive in the 80s!\* > > Maybe his “friend” was, though? > > I’m pretty sure PSXer has been trolling us. He’s constantly making posts about his love for laserdiscs (at some point I think he got really progressive and rented a VHS tape), standard aspect-ratio televisions, and wondering what is up with kids these days and their Pogs, among his other anachronisms. > > I give him props for at least being a clever troll though. > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Second place has to go to those idiots who post a one-line response (such as “cool!” or a string of dancing smileys) to a picture-heavy post (perhaps which showed screenies of a new mod or something) which reproduces every single picture in the original, thus sucking precious bandwidth away from those poor souls still on dialup who have to DL the same pictures over and over and grow old and grey waiting for it to all finish. I can’t imagine someone who uses a PC who isn’t at least remotely familiar with the arcane art of highlighting and deleting, but I guess they’re out there… > [@Smeghead](#): > > > [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > > > \*The previous post is light-hearted in tone. I actually agree with **Kyrie** and, for the most part, think **PSXer** is a dildo. > > > > PS: Thanks, **PSXer**! For finally starting a pit thread so I can call you a dildo! 🙂 > > Nah. Most dildos have at least seen a vagina. > [@Voyager](#): > > > [@PSXer](#): > > > > is it really that hard? > > From my experience working at several high tech companies - yes. I’d hate to see what it would be like at a low tech one. > > Eventually, our CEO (and this was a Fortune 500 company) said in a message that if you are too clueless to avoid responding to all, then you probably don’t belong here. > > I suspect that many people don’t get the basics of how emails work, or list-servs. However there are those who reply to all saying not to reply to all. Nice job, guys. > [@Not\_a\_Platypus](#): > > Apparently. I’ve been doing contract work for a company, and the guy I report to periodically sends e-mails to his contractors, asking us to tell him when we’re available within a certain time-frame. He’ll specifically tell us to reply just to him, individually, yet there’s still that one guy that replies to everyone. I don’t understand. > [@Balance](#): > > It gets better. There are different tiers of replytoallitis, and it happens often enough where I work that we’ve started setting up a pool every time we see a message accidentally directed to a whole list. For the pool, you have to pick how many of the following categories will reply to everyone: > [ul] > [li]Intended recipient acknowledging/answering email. (Doesn’t count if it was only meant for one person.)[/li][li]Person helpfully replying that they don’t think they were supposed to get the email.[/li][li]Annoyed person requesting that they be removed from the list.[/li][li]Still more annoyed person requesting that everyone stop replying to the whole list.[/ul][/li]When the mailstorm finally dies down, you tally up how far off you were (plus or minus) on each tier and sum the tallies. Whoever has the lowest result wins. There are side bets on how many of the respondents will be project managers, line managers, and execs (the total is usually very near 100%). > [@Waffle\_Decider](#): > > Depends on what kind of email and what kind of list. Sometimes it is inappropriate to reply to all, but sometimes it is inappropriate not to. In the software development world, email lists often serve the role of a discussion forum. It is considered bad manner to not reply to the list. As an analogy, the SDMB would be a very boring place indeed if everyone only replies to the OP, wouldn’t it. All you see would be questions but no answers. > > Also as mentioned upthread, if this is a email that requires an action item that may be taken care of by any of the recipients, wouldn’t a quick reply to all that says “I’ll take care of it” an easy way of keeping things coordinated? > [@Rigamarole](#): > > > [@Balance](#): > > > > When the mailstorm finally dies down… > > At first glance I thought you wrote “mailstrom” as a pun on maelstrom. Man, you were _this_ close to having achieved greatness. > [@PlainJain](#): > > I’m pretty sure the OP is chumming the offenderatti. > [@MsRobyn](#): > > > [@Waffle\_Decider](#): > > > > Depends on what kind of email and what kind of list. Sometimes it is inappropriate to reply to all, but sometimes it is inappropriate not to. In the software development world, email lists often serve the role of a discussion forum. It is considered bad manner to not reply to the list. As an analogy, the SDMB would be a very boring place indeed if everyone only replies to the OP, wouldn’t it. All you see would be questions but no answers. > > > > Also as mentioned upthread, if this is a email that requires an action item that may be taken care of by any of the recipients, wouldn’t a quick reply to all that says “I’ll take care of it” an easy way of keeping things coordinated? > > Damn you! How dare you bring logic and common sense to a Pit thread! 😉 > > I will agree that it makes sense under certain circumstances. However, IME, “reply to all” happens under the following circumstances: > > [ul] > [li]Genuine cluelessness on the part of the reply-er, who doesn’t understand that not everyone needs to read his response;[/li][li]Attention-whoring on the part of the reply-er, who assumes that every word he types is a gem and that everyone should behold the grandeur and majesty of his output; and[/li][li]Passive-aggression from someone who can’t quite bring himself to say something negative to one or two people, so he sends it to the entire list.[/ul][/li] > Now for my list-related gripes. When you build a mailing list, please use the blind-copy feature. I don’t want a bunch of total strangers to have my e-mail address any more than they want me to have theirs. And please respect the wishes of those who ask you to remove them. I told you to your face that I was no longer interested in working with your group, but I kept > getting e-mails. (I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the reason I left was because he’s a clueless idiot who gives me a serious case of the willies.) > > And, finally, my super-strength venom is reserved for people who are on these aforementioned lists who feel the need to add everyone else on the list to their own address books. No problemo, I love to get idiotic, debunked political spam, glurge, and cute pictures of happy fuzzy kittens and puppies in my e-mail. I have no idea how many people are in my kill filter, but ain’t none of ‘em gettin’ out. > [@Waffle\_Decider](#): > > > [@MsRobyn](#): > > > > Damn you! How dare you bring logic and common sense to a Pit thread! 😉 > > No problem. I aim to please! 😛 > [@Rysto](#): > > Here’s a paraphrased version of an email thread I was part of at work that very nearly led me to start a Pit thread of my own: > > > [@](#): > > > > From: Manager > > To: Several Developers > > > > Could the people on the “To:” list fill in the following table for their bug reports and send it to me? > > > > ```auto > > > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > > > > ``` > > The first two were bad enough. I nearly lost it when I got the following: > > Ok, so presented with a clear example of what not to do, you go ahead and do it? Christ. I wasn’t the only person annoyed: > > > [@](#): > > > > From: Supreme Dumbass > > To: Manager, Smartass > > CC: Developers > > > > ```auto > > > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > > > > ``` > > > > — Original Email — > > From: Smartass > > To: Manager > > CC: Developers > > > > ```auto > > > > Bug Number | Title | Owner | Affects Release X? | Merged to Maintenance Branch for Release X.Y ? > > 26565 | Developers use "Reply-All" unnecessarily | smartass | Seems to affect all versions | Not yet; please merge the fix everywhere ASAP > > > > ``` > > And this is why I, despite being only two years out of school and thus quite a junior person in the company, average 60 emails per work day. > [@Voyager](#): > > > [@Waffle\_Decider](#): > > > > Depends on what kind of email and what kind of list. Sometimes it is inappropriate to reply to all, but sometimes it is inappropriate not to. In the software development world, email lists often serve the role of a discussion forum. It is considered bad manner to not reply to the list. As an analogy, the SDMB would be a very boring place indeed if everyone only replies to the OP, wouldn’t it. All you see would be questions but no answers. > > > > Also as mentioned upthread, if this is a email that requires an action item that may be taken care of by any of the recipients, wouldn’t a quick reply to all that says “I’ll take care of it” an easy way of keeping things coordinated? > > I’ve never seen a mailstorm begin from this kind of response. More typically, someone uses a wrong alias (which is what we call them) and sends a mail to the entire company saying a picnic for one department has been canceled. That’s an innocent mistake, and the person often send a mail to everyone apologizing. The clueless people are the ones who have to tell everyone they shouldn’t be getting this mail, or who don’t take five seconds to look up how to get off a list and send mail to everyone asking to be removed instead. > [@BigT](#): > > Meh. I find PSXer fun. Sure, he uses antiquated technology, but his stuff usually is relevant. I call it less trolling, and more role playing. > > And he breaks character enough that I’m fine with it. > > The only thing I’m concerned about is whether his roleplay is to disguise his posting style, which would reveal him to be a sock. And I only care because I don’t want to see him go. > > As for the topic- While Listserve and other mailings lists have mostly fallen by the wayside, it still happens in groups. Yes, there are legitimate reasons to reply to all, but many people always do it. Less common is with a forward, where people mistakenly use Reply to All instead of just Reply. > > The better analogy, though, is using the Facebook wall for personal comments. It’s essentially the same thing, since every one of that person’s friends are going to be notified of that conversation. Even with the new feature that allows the sender to hide a wall post from people who shouldn’t see it, way too many people do not stop to think whether a comment would be better public or private. > > The more things change, the more they stay the same. Please take my name off this thread. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/27 "2010-08-16T17:31:47Z")
Hey non-believers here is a picture of my VCR, laserdisc player, and CRT TV [![](https://i742.photobucket.com/albums/xx63/PSXeriscool/100_0163.jpg) ](https://i742.photobucket.com/albums/xx63/PSXeriscool/100_0163.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/28 "2010-08-16T21:34:03Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > However there are those who reply to all saying not to reply to all. Nice job, guys. You may mock, but sometimes it’s the \*\*ONLY FUCKING WAY \*\*to get people to stop. It’s not like you can psychically divine who from the giant list will next decide to Reply All, and one final “Please stop replying to everyone on this email and reply directly to [the sender and/or the person specified in the email]” can head off dozens more retarded replies. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/29 "2010-08-16T22:41:27Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > You may mock, but sometimes it’s the \*\*ONLY FUCKING WAY \*\*to get people to stop. It’s not like you can psychically divine who from the giant list will next decide to Reply All, and one final “Please stop replying to everyone on this email and reply directly to [the sender and/or the person specified in the email]” can head off dozens more retarded replies. True. The problem is when you’re, say, the eighth person to offer such an admonishment. (We usually get four or five. Eight is the current record.) ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/30 "2010-08-16T23:20:10Z")
## This is how it usually goes in my school district: Subject: Kittens! Message: Our cat just had a litter of the cutest little kittens! We’re going to keep two and two are already spoken for, so we’re looking for homes for the last four. * * * Subject: RE: Kittens! Message: Ah, what cute little guys! Sorry, we just don’t have room right now. * * * Subject: RE: Kittens! Message: We can take one. * * * Subject: RE: Kittens! ## Message: Sorry, my husband is allergic. Subject: RE: Kittens! Message: How many kittens do you have? * * * Subject: STOP REPLYING TO ALL Message: When you reply, please reply only to the sender. We don’t all need to get every response. * * * Subject: RE: STOP REPLYING TO ALL Message: I will take a kitten. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/31 "2010-08-17T15:24:11Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > True. The problem is when you’re, say, the eighth person to offer such an admonishment. (We usually get four or five. Eight is the current record.) :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/32 "2010-08-17T15:42:41Z")
The best accidental “reply-to-all” I’ve ever seen. I work in the corporate office of a general retail chain. Sometimes the folks in Supply will have a load of sample products that they will give away to employees. Last year, they had some jeans and sent out a company-wide memo letting people know they had some jeans available if folks wanted to reply with their size and how many they wanted. Yes, one woman replied _to the entire company_ with her pant size. And she was not, shall we say, small-waisted. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/33 "2010-08-17T16:15:26Z")
Where I work, there’s the occasional **strategic** reply to all. This is one where the replying party (and there’s one in particular who leverages this) makes a reply showing patriotism, loyalty, or espousing some cause near and dear to the heart, and hits “reply to all” so _everyone else can see_ this person’s admirable qualities or pet cause. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/34 "2010-08-17T23:20:02Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > > [@Balance](#): > > > > True. The problem is when you’re, say, the eighth person to offer such an admonishment. (We usually get four or five. Eight is the current record.) > > :smack: If you’ve never seen this behavior, you must work with a crew of very with it people. The original culprit might say this, or a list administrator, but everyone else should STFU. If they want to mouth off, they can reply directly to the reply to all-er. Being mail bombed should improve their attitude. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/35 "2010-08-17T23:35:14Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > [crapload of prior posts deleted] > Please take my name off this thread. Don’t worry. I’ve reported your post and asked that you be banned and disappeared for it. 😃 not really. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/36 "2010-08-18T14:49:33Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > If you’ve never seen this behavior, you must work with a crew of very with it people. If I did, I wouldn’t be getting the strings of Reply-Alls in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/37 "2010-08-18T18:59:03Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > If I did, I wouldn’t be getting the strings of Reply-Alls in the first place. Replials? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256/38 "2010-08-18T19:39:52Z")
Vile replials for which there shall be reprisals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-respond-to-the-entire-list-serve-when-replying-to-an-email/550256.md?page=1)