Chaos: Reply-All Email Storm Almost Crashes State Department Communications System

[babylonsister]

Reply-all e-mail storm hits State

MATTHEW LEE | January 10, 2009 03:19 PM EST | AP


WASHINGTON — Many "reply all" fiascos result in mere embarrassment, but American diplomats have been told they may be punished for sending mass responses after an e-mail storm nearly knocked out one of the State Department's main electronic communications systems.

A cable sent last week to all employees at the department's Washington headquarters and overseas missions warns of unspecified "disciplinary actions" for using the "reply to all" function on e-mail with large distribution lists.

The cable, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, was prompted by a major interruption in departmental e-mail caused by numerous diplomats hitting "reply all" to an errant message inadvertently addressed and copied to several thousand recipients.

"Department staff hitting 'reply to all' on an e-mail with a large distribution list is causing an e-mail storm on the department's OpenNet e-mail system," says the unclassified cable that was sent Thursday by Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy.

He said the result was "effectively a denial of service as e-mail queues, especially between posts, back up while processing the extra volume of e-mails."

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/10/replyall-email-storm-hits_n_156856.html

[mtnester]

1. BS, repy to all means more places they have to find and destroy

anything that might need "destroyed"

[Jackpine Radical]

4. Interesting point...

[madokie]

2. I remove reply to all from the commands readily available to me in outlook

I can't see how anyone could have a need for a reply to all. When I recognize a sender as a reply to all type person I just delete their messages without further notice.

[RC]

3. "Reply to all" is useful in business to keep the other people in the group informed.

It is required to be used sometimes.

[annabanana]

5. "reply to all" is very satisfying when someone has sent you a

much forwarded, easily refutable, steaming piece of RW crap...

[surrealAmerican]

6. I wonder what that "errant message ...

... inadvertently addressed and copied to several thousand recipients" was, and where it came from.

[L0oniX]

7. LOL ...lamers