# Emails marked "urgent!" that aren't actually urgent - how do you react?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-marked-urgent-that-arent-actually-urgent-how-do-you-react/564053>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 13, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-marked-urgent-that-arent-actually-urgent-how-do-you-react/564053 "2010-12-13T23:46:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-marked-urgent-that-arent-actually-urgent-how-do-you-react/564053/21 "2010-12-15T20:56:19Z")

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I can’t decide if you get an A for smacking down Greg, or an F for your use of reply-all.

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**Author:** ![ptr2void](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ptr2void/32/3406_2.png) [@ptr2void](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ptr2void)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-marked-urgent-that-arent-actually-urgent-how-do-you-react/564053/22 "2010-12-15T21:28:35Z")

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> [@purplehorseshoe](#):
>
> In the interest of research and fighting ignorance, could you ask her WHY she does this? Is it an auto-set thing, or does she consciously mark each email that way before she sends it to you? Inquiring minds would like to know!
> 
> (Or … will that start too big of a fight?)

I have asked, and the answer I got was that everything she had to say WAS important. :rolleyes: It’s something she does with each email, it’s not automatically set to do so.

Actually, I just went back through some of my more recent emails and she has gotten somewhat better about not marking EVERYTHING urgent, so that’s progress!

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**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-marked-urgent-that-arent-actually-urgent-how-do-you-react/564053/23 "2010-12-15T21:52:11Z")

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> [@purplehorseshoe](#):
>
> I can’t decide if you get an A for smacking down Greg, or an F for your use of reply-all.

No, I think this was an appropriate use of reply-all.

The point of this was to use peer pressure to get Greg to conform to the company norm of only marking an email urgent if it actually is urgent business. That peer pressure works because the reply-all made all Greg’s peers aware of it.

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**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:** [December 15, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emails-marked-urgent-that-arent-actually-urgent-how-do-you-react/564053/24 "2010-12-15T22:01:05Z")

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> [@purplehorseshoe](#):
>
> I can’t decide if you get an A for smacking down Greg, or an F for your use of reply-all.

Under the circumstances, this is the one place where I can justify the use of “Reply All.”

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