Reply All...

There are a number of things in life that provide immediate humiliation.

A noisy, uncontrolled fart in a quiet, yet crowded, elevator.

Shutting your locked car door, only to notice at the very last moment, that your keys are still snuggly in the ignition.

Accidently using the "Reply All" in a very personal, private e-mail.

My wife, Margo, is the principal of an elementary school. During the spring break she received an e-mail from a School District colleague requesting that she contact a student's mother regarding some special education issues.

Now, Margo is probably the kindest, sweetest person on the face of the earth. She is always polite and professional in all her dealings with both parents and staff. However, on this particular e-mail she decided to take a candid and harsh approach in detailing her experiences with this particular mother. She recounted numerous meetings with the mother that led her to believe that not only the child but the mother herself was "special ed". It was a scathing indictment of an overly aggressive and difficult mother.

When Margo was about to e-mail her reply to the District colleague and a District Administrator she decided to use, Reply All. Unfortunately, the originator of the email from the district had Carbon Copied or "CC"'d the mother who was the subject of the email.

So, she too, got Margo's e-mail reply.

Technology's version of Instant Karma...

The offended mother fired off her own e-mail to Margo describing how upset she was about the e-mail. Margo offered a sincere and humble apology.

Suggestion to all ISP's who have e-mail: Please have an "are you sure you want to send this e-mail to All?" (similar to when you are deleting a file). Or perhaps more importantly the disclaimer: "Are you sure this e-mail isn't going to someone you don't want it to go to, isn't going to start a world war, or isn't going to PerezHilton.com?"

Unlike a crowded elevator, it is tough to blame someone else...