Forwarding and Hurt Feelings

Every single day I get e-mails from concerned Netizens all worried about how to nicely ask a "friend" to quit forwarding chain letters, hoaxes and jokes to them. Many of these "friends" take the liberty of sending these silly e-mails to their contact's business e-mail addresses!

What happens when asked to please not forward those type of e-mail -- especially to a business address? Hurt feelings. What is there to get "hurt" about? All you did was click a name and add it to the list of others you sent to. There is nothing overly personal, time consuming or thoughtful about these actions to take it personally when someone simply asks for you to refrain from doing so in the future.

There is a correct way to forward e-mails. If everyone followed these guidelines, there wouldn't be any hurt feelings because there wouldn't be this mass mailing of thoughtless dribble being forward to everyone who happens to be in another's address book.

You should not have presumed your contacts wanted those e-mail in the first place. What were you thinking sending junk to their business address? If asked to stop forwarding these type of e-mails, humbly apologize, honor their request and don't get hurt.

Certainly a simple request like this is shouldn't destroy friendships right? If it does, well maybe there wasn't much of a friendship there in the first place.

5 Rules for Forwarding E-mails