Rules for Forwarding E-mails

Several times each week I get asked for guidance when it comes to forwarding emails written by others. Is one to copy the original sender and/or ask if it is O.K. before forwarding their e-mail? A resounding YES!

Whether it be a business or personal e-mail, common courtesy would dictate you don't forward without the original sender's knowledge. They may not appreciate the e-mail they wrote to you being sent to those they don't know.

In addition, all e-mails are naturally copyright protected by the author. So in order to forward a private e-mail to another person, or to post it anywhere online you need to get the writer's permission to do so first.

Cc'ing doesn't negate asking for permission. Private e-mails are sent and written to the party for which they were intended, not to be sent to others without their permission first.

I have an article on forwarding on my site that you might find helpful that covers the 5 Rules for Forwarding

HTH!