The hazards of using the “reply all” email feature are writ large in the annals of modern social history. Entire address books exposed. Rude comments accidentally sent to the person who they are about. Relationships changed forever. Workplace servers grinding to a halt under the sheer weight of people replying. And yet the button continues to sit innocuously on every email we read, almost daring us to press it without thinking. And press it we do.
Email is one of those technologies which has overgrown its original scale. The simplicity of sending and receiving emails has changed dramatically
A few days ago, Microsoft introduced a long overdue system to combat some of the horrors of “reply all”. Now available for users of Office 365, Reply All Storm Protection will be most useful for large companies who are at risk from what is known as a “reply-allpocalypse”. In the event of 10 reply-all messages being sent to more than 5,000 people within an hour, all further replies are blocked. Microsoft plans to adapt the system for smaller organisations too.
Microsoft is uniquely positioned to offer the world such protection. Back in October 1997, it became one of the first companies to suffer a reply-all-induced whiteout, after a single email was unwittingly sent to 25,000 employees on a mailing list.
Annoyed recipients began replying to the message, asking to be removed. Those emails also went to 25,000 people, as did emails telling people not to “reply all”. Microsoft’s email server went down for two days. The name of the damaging mailing list was somewhat prescient: “Bedlam”.
More than 20 years later, Microsoft employees are still at it. In November, a single message sent to 11,543 colleagues quickly threatened to spiral into Bedlam II.
Then, six weeks ago, another 52,000-person 'reply-all storm' hit the company. “Microsoft sources tell us some staff are now hitting reply all for the sheer fun of it, posting frivolous messages that celebrate the ridiculousness of the situation,” reported tech website The Register.
Microsoft is by no means the only company to suffer at the hands of the "reply-all demon", as Victoria Turk refers to it in her book about digital etiquette, appropriately titled Kill Reply All. "It will be holding your and everyone else's inbox hostage for the foreseeable… Replies about not replying start to proliferate," she writes. All reply-all fiascos are essentially a consequence of people not taking the time to think; this in turn is a consequence of email becoming almost too good at its job.
“Email is one of those technologies which has overgrown its original scale,” says Jeff Pearsall, vice president product design at Edison Mail. “The simplicity of sending and receiving emails has changed dramatically. Some of these innovations, although helpful, can make it easier to make costly mistakes. When building [email] interfaces, using technology and carefully crafted UI [user interface] treatments to avoid mistakes in the email flow are a much larger priority than most people would expect.”
Edison, Gmail and other email platforms try to compensate for our eagerness to send email by offering an “undo send” feature, which gives us a few seconds to think twice and recall our errant message. But for some people, a few seconds is not long enough.
The list of political figures who have accidentally sent journalists “reply all” emails they wished they had not is a long and tragic one. Use of “reply all” within the legal profession can lead to serious problems surrounding client confidentiality. A recent ruling in the US state of Illinois advised legal professionals to refrain from using it.
And yet it is so useful. The feature is there for a reason; to keep us in the loop and avoid having the same conversation with several people. Its potential to cause problems is entirely down to human shortcomings. The best thing we can do is stay alert. Double check. Maybe triple check.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Disposing of non-recycleable masks
Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home
Do not put them in a recycling bin
Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
- No need to bag the mask
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The years Ramadan fell in May
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018
Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: Health-tech
Size: 22 employees
Funding: Seed funding
Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors
