How To Forward An E-Mail Properly

Most people will see the title of this article and think "Um… forwarding an e-mail is like the easiest thing in the world. How could you possibly do it wrong?"

Trust me there’s a right way and a wrong way.

I am very much against anyone forwarding me jokes and/or chain letters in e-mail. However there are some people you will make exceptions for (usually friends, family members, or your girlfriend).

Here’s the wrong way to forward an e-mail using just one e-mail sent to me as an example:

1. It freakin’ huge.

Yes, this is an e-mail that’s 5MB in size.

2. It’s been forward a ba-zillion times.

Note the subject line above.

3. When you open it, you have to click on it again to open it further.

This is because it was forwarded as an attachment and not inline.

4. Upon opening it, you discover it’s the same e-mail repeated 5 (or more) times over.

Note the scrollbar for the attachments at the far right. This e-mail literally has the same crapola repeated more than 5+ times. This is why it’s such a huge e-mail. I’m betting it was originally less than 500k.

Commence facepalm here.

Don’t forward e-mails to people like that.

And if you ever encounter anyone who trashes your inbox with these, forward this article to them and say "Hey, I found something that was written just for you!"

Hopefully they’ll understand.

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Allyn Rountree
I think someone sent me one of these. I actually got one at work one time I believe. I can’t stand it.
http://www.twitter.com/andrewpearce Drew
My personal tip/thoughts when it comes to sending emails to multiple people:
If forwarding the email to multiple people, BCC them all in with your email in the TO field. This way, your not sending out everyone’s email address to others. I view it the same as passing out someones phone number or mailing address out without permission – not cool.
Also, if you are forwarding, delete the email addresses that have attached themselves to the forward over the course of time. It makes it easier to read for the next person without having to scroll down 5 screens worth of crap just to get to the point. And again, for anonymity purposes, it removes the email address of the person who forwarded it to you.
Just my personal 2 cents on the subject.