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Digital Harassment 1.1
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17-Dec-2008
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Continuing the series on the serious issue of Digital Harassment...
E-mail Bullying
Another harassment tactic we've all either done or been a victim of is E-mail Bullying. It sounds kind of absurd, but it is in fact very real.
Have you ever sent an E-mail that had a few too many Cc's or Bcc's? Perhaps on purpose? For the sake of attempting to expose someone's mistake, ignorance, et cetera? Has this ever happened to you? I know I have been on the receiving end, and although I have been careful not to be on the sending, I probably have bordered on it.
Again, the problem really arises out of the fact that people treat E-mail as some mystical, new thing that has no rules attached to it. In reality is just another form of communication. You should treat E-mail the way you would a telephone conversation, a memo, a meeting, et cetera. If someone forgot to fill out Field C on Form 203-B, and you would not call a general conference meeting of their boss's boss's boss, and everyone else in the company, why would you feel it appropriate to send an E-mail that accomplishes the same thing?
It is a documented fact that people feel significant amounts of stress over E-mail just with how it is intended to be used. Imagine for a moment a small mistake that we all make every day, suddenly sitting in your inbox with a copy to every employee at your workplace. The levels of embarrassment and humiliation are so significant that people have quit over these, and likewise have contributed to the firing of an employee (on both the sending and receiving ends).
Another tactic of an E-mail bully is to forward around something you sent to only them. Just as is true with in person and telephone conversations, some things are private and others are not. As a matter of fact, unless you tell someone they are being recorded, any such recording of a private conversation is inadmissible in court. E-mail by its nature creates a duplicatable copy; nonetheless, the same rules apply. Just because you have a record of a conversation does not mean you have the right or justification to do with it as you please. I have been on the receiving end of nasty grams, and I certainly have been on the sending end; and I've certainly had some of mine forwarded on. And of course, there really isn't anything you can do about it, short of lying and saying the forwarder altered your original document to misrepresent you (and don't bother trying, there are ways to tell...).
Let us not forget the Bcc field. Honestly, these should not even be included in software. It's a covert, quasi-espionage utility by nature, and given that an E-mail administrator has the genuine ability to investigate anything above and beyond what the Bcc field can do, and appropriately, there is no excuse to utilize it. Nonetheless, many people do. And, depending on which E-mail client you are using, you may be responding to Bcc's unbeknown to you. Something to keep in mind.
It all comes down to appropriate and misappropriate conduct. Companies usually do not have appropriate E-mail conduct guidelines, and rarely disciplinary procedures for such abuse. Nonetheless, it is a very serious issue and should be treated like any other form of harassment.
If you would get fired for physically harassing someone, or verbally harassing them, or creating a hostile environment for them in any way, shape or form, E-mail certainly applies. |
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