Why “Reply All” Sucks

2 min. read

Yeah, it’s been a long 7 months of working from home and you’re feeling a bit lonely and quite out of touch….

Or maybe you’re not working from home but attempting to overcommunicate – to make sure everyone’s included and “engaged” …

Nope – “reply all” still isn’t cool.

The moral of the story – “reply all” should never be your default.

Looking to connect with your team?

“Reply All” is the opposite of what you’re looking for. If what you’re sharing is irrelevant to them/their work, it’s a waste of their time. Don’t be annoying.

The Answer: Step away from your inbox. Same with social media. Time for some “real” conversation!

So, “Reply All” should NEVER be used?!?

Well, there is the saying “never say never” … so I’m sure there are circumstances where one could validate it.

Frankly, just think it through.

And follow some of these helpful ground rules from HuffPost:

Reply All” Email Etiquette Ground Rules:

If your response will cause other people to do something different ––– then yes, reply all.

If your response will have absolutely no effect on other people and is “thanks” or “ok” then no –––– don’t reply all.

In personal communication, reply all should be used for group invites with 10 or fewer people and on discussion threads where at least 70 percent of recipients are actively participating.

At work, reply all should be used when you have something valuable to add to the conversation or when you disagree with whatever is being proposed.

In general, agreement with a work email is assumed, so an email saying you agree doesn’t really need to be a reply at all.

Read more at HuffPost.com ›