RateItAll: The Opinion Network

I recently got an e-mail from this sales chick at one of the hotels we service. It said "You look pretty hot in those leather pants today but they'd look better on my bedroom floor". I thought, wtf? A few minutes later I get a call from her, apologizing frantically. It was meant for this guy Jerry at her hotel who happens to be flamboyantly gay. I thought it was funny but maybe her boss wouldn't, or a client, etc. I think the bottom line is that before you hit the send button, ask yourself, you mind if that email got into some of the wrong hands? That forward button is easy to press.

Rule of thumb: Never e-mail anything to anyone at work that you couldn't share with the entire company. E-mail has ears.

A few in my company have been fired for this. Certain off-color e-mails have a way of getting forwarded beyond your control. If someone wants to see you fired because of something they deem offensive, you'll regret the e-mail

You may be interested to hear what the UK Government (don't you just love 'em) has recently enacted: The freedom of information act. This is great on paper. It means that anyone asking civil servants about the work they do has to be answered in the most accessible and transparent way (one would imagine this would mean telling the truth) However, guidelines have been sent to Government employees to tell them what questions they are not allowed to discuss if they are asked by a member of the public. All e-mails that have been sent by Government Ministers to their departments are to be erased after something like three weeks. Yet it has been the reporting and whistle-blowing of these e-mails that have brought the corrupt element of Government to the public arena (and have caused the resignation of a fair few) Double standards indeed from Blair and co. Three cheers the e-mail in this regard!

Haha, just remember, it only takes one wrong click to send that e-mail to EVERYONE instead of one person, and it only takes one complaint to get you in trouble.