Using blind carbon copy on professional work emails

[Littleturkish]

I received an email from a colleague that I replied to, and then minutes later had another email from a different colleague who (from the heading of the email below) had been BCC'd into the first email.

My first reaction was anger- possibly overshadowed by the fact both of these colleagues are incredibly irritating and are creating a huge amount of work load over something relatively insignificant. I don't think the second person realised that they had been BCC'd in when they included that email in their reply/forgot to delete the top of the original email.

I think BCC on work emails is unprofessional- AIBU?

"it is INCREDIBLY bad manners to reply all to an email where your own name does not appear in the header"

I've done this multiple times, in the scenario where a colleague asks me about a query he's been dealing with and it rapidly becomes obvious that it's something I know more about than he does.

He forwards me the emails, I do a reply all to everyone saying I've spoken to him and it's something I'm familiar with - and hopefully fixing the problem.

Where do you people work that you have such rigid rules about who you are allowed to reply to and how? It would be bonkers anywhere I've worked.

A glitch in the email software at my former employment would reveal bcc recipients in certain circumstances. I figured it out and kept it to myself...and enjoyed the secret knowledge of just hie frequently it was deployed.

I have been known to accidentally forget to cc someone into an email, so then forward it on to them. I'd guess in that circumstance it might look a bit like they were bcc'd into the original if they start replying. Though there might be clues that I hadn't in the chain/title of the email.

I've never had the need to bcc anyone in, though I think it does have legitimate uses.

I don't really see how you could be "conned" here.

I send an email to you, BCCing Mary.

When you reply (whether you do "reply" or "reply all"), Mary does not receive that reply. Only people in the "to" or the "cc" can receive your reply.

So all that has happened is that I have shown Mary what I sent to you.

How is it bad behaviour for me to tell someone about something that I have said?

I guess it's the motive and the outcome.

I feel undermined, like the two have been discussing this and didn't want me to know. That isn't conducive to a positive working relationship.

In the past I've suspected one of them of using BCC on emails to me before, as I've had colleagues speak to me about things that they otherwise had no way of knowing.

Work shouldn't be a minefield of politics- it's a waste of time and causes drama where it isn't needed.

I know the original BCC will try and wriggle out of it and say it was by accident, but on our system it isn't an automatic box, you have to click through to select it...I just really don't appreciate the underhand nature of it all.

After many years in accountancy and local government
I assume that every email I receive may have been BCCd to persons unknown
I also assume that every message I send could be forwarded to person or persons unknown
I also assume that telephone calls can be recorded or on speaker

I'm not paranoid, just careful

For really confidential I do face to face or phone calls with the radio on in the near background
and then confirm the polite bits by email

it causes me no stress and makes good business sense

Trills, I'd assume the way it would go would be -
A sends B an e-mail bcc-ing C
B replies to A, not C
A replies to B, bcc-ing C again (which includes B's reply)

= stitch up!

I bbc my boss on some e-mails where it is useful to know what is going on but don' want others to know his e-mail address. He works from home and e-mails are supposed to come through me as if it is an update the client (not quite the right word without outing myself if I go into detail) wants I can deal with that and anything will require the paperwork from me first anyway. Once anyone has his e-mail they contact him constantly over everything

BCC Has a time and place, like mass emails. Nothing is worse than a company email with 200 people and some idiot hitting reply all to say something stupid.

As for dealing with difficult coworkers, I mostly just use CC to keep the boss in the loop. So if I asked a colleague to get me their stuff I needed to complete my end of the project, I CC'd boss so colleague knew boss was watching, and so boss knew that if the project fell through it wasn't me. It's amazing how well people cooperate when it's their own ass they need to cover. But you could also use BCC in those situations if it was particularly hostile.

Or in more benign situations, it was just keeping the boss in the loop so they knew where the project was on the timeline so we didn't have to keep filling them in every meeting and wasting time.

I think it depends entirely on the situation

I sometimes bcc someone (or forward to them separately) to avoid adding yet another person to the list at the top. Quite often another person needs to be informed about some part of the discussion without taking a full part in it.

The alternative would be for me to write them a completely separate email telling them the relevant parts of the discussion, which is a waste of time if the information they need is already there clearly enough in the email trail.

At my work, the problem is usually that more and more people get added into the 'To' box and you end up with everyone and his bloody dog getting every reply and going off at tangents which have very little to do with the main discussion, but because they 'Reply All' and add in a couple of extra recipients the day vanishes in reading replies to replies to replies, most of which could have been handled better out of the main discussion.

But it sounds like your actual difficulty is that they are trying to go behind people's backs and cause problems, rather than the exact way they're going about it.

I think being aware of the use of BCC is a very good lesson in reminding you that NO emails are completely confidential. Even if they are not BCCed, they can be forwarded, printed out, anything really.

If it's in an email, then it can be shared. And if you don't take care, you could get in trouble.

Talkin Peace, I have long thought that the business world is much much nicer than the public sector world and your desciption of your business life just confirms that.

In my main professional world:

1. when the inevitable happened and the bcc person replied to all, you would be disliked and make enemies because you go behind people's backs.
2. commercial negotiations would be slowed and possibly even come to a half. Deals have been lost over things like this. Business relationships are about building trust.

In my second professional world it would just be considered manipulative. But in that world, even forwarding on an email might be considered nasty.

Both my worlds are pretty nice! Yours does not sound so nice

I like it : that is why I choose to be in it
Public Sector two days a week
Private sector two days a week
Yoga classes three days a week

I get bcc'd for info, as colleagues are replying to customers, and I have the job of logging the details. Or I might send a generic update email for something and bcc all the recipients (so they don't know who else is a customer, it's about privacy for each customer).

But bcc can be a minefield, and as such we're careful over using it.