I have decided to post this on the WE Group Blog as it sets out very well the dangers of exposing our EMail addresses when forwarding jokes etc. This is something that we cover in our lessons quite frequently and I know that all group members behave in a responsible manner. However, at times some of our friends do not and perhaps politely pointing out the implications to them might help.
Sylvia
Star Letter of the Week
Your warning not to publish email addresses on the web (Letters, issue 248) struck a chord with me. Some while ago, I naively used my main email address while registering with employment agencies. Unbeknown to me, my details were widely distributed to other agencies and openly published on the web. As a result, this
email address now attracts a very high number of unsolicited messages.
Similarly, I have had lots of problems with friends and acquaintances sending jokes and chain letters via email, with all the destination email addresses visible at the top. It doesn't take very long for these emails to reach vast numbers of people, and the last chain letter I received was addressed to 44 people - it was even sent to an online store, as the sender had obviously selected every name in their address book.
I dread to think how many copies have been forwarded, exposing my address, from just this one message. What makes this particularly irritating is my lack of control - other people are compromising my address and I can do very little to prevent them doing so.
email address now attracts a very high number of unsolicited messages.
Similarly, I have had lots of problems with friends and acquaintances sending jokes and chain letters via email, with all the destination email addresses visible at the top. It doesn't take very long for these emails to reach vast numbers of people, and the last chain letter I received was addressed to 44 people - it was even sent to an online store, as the sender had obviously selected every name in their address book.
I dread to think how many copies have been forwarded, exposing my address, from just this one message. What makes this particularly irritating is my lack of control - other people are compromising my address and I can do very little to prevent them doing so.
(signed)
Editors Reply
It can be incredibly annoying when your email address attracts large quantities of junk messages, and even more so when your address is made public by someone else. It's also true that chain letters and jokes passed on via email can spread quickly, with a huge list of addresses accumulating at the top of each email. If this list appears on the web, or falls into the wrong hands, each address could become a target for spam. The best way to avoid this threat is communication: explaining to friends that you want to keep your email address private should do the trick.
Editors Reply
It can be incredibly annoying when your email address attracts large quantities of junk messages, and even more so when your address is made public by someone else. It's also true that chain letters and jokes passed on via email can spread quickly, with a huge list of addresses accumulating at the top of each email. If this list appears on the web, or falls into the wrong hands, each address could become a target for spam. The best way to avoid this threat is communication: explaining to friends that you want to keep your email address private should do the trick.
