ARTICLE

To Fight E-Mail Oversharing, Firms Try New Rules, Software

"CC" is fast becoming the most dangerous letter combination in the business world.

One day a company president e-mailed 70 employees about a planned meeting. They all began giving him their comments using the "reply to all" button. As the e-mails flew, cc'd to everyone, a vice president asked him: "How's the prostate? The president ended up calling a meeting to reassure employees that his prostate was fine. But from then on, some privately referred to him as "President Prostate."

As e-mail overload buries computer users world-wide, much of the blame is falling on the cc line, which allows e-mailers to share correspondence with countless colleagues, friends or strangers. For e-mail writers who play office politics, deciding which recipients belong on which lines -- "to," "cc," or "bcc" (blind carbon copy) -- has become a daily struggle. Many resort to unnecessary cc-ing and sneaky bcc-ing, inadvertently spilling proprietary information, or inappropriately copying an underling or boss.

The "cc" gridlock isn't just impeding worker productivity. It's also increasing management's legal risks, according to a study set for release this week. As a result, Internet consultants are advising companies to develop e-mail rulebooks, and recommending new technological tools, such as the color-coding of less-vital cc'd messages.

Ivan O'Sullivan knows the business risks of an errant cc. A few years ago, he was working on a $5 million bid for another company. Then his boss wrote a secret e-mail detailing his negotiating strategies. On the cc line, the boss meant to include an underling named John, but absentmindedly cc'd an officer named John at the target company. The deal collapsed. Mr. O'Sullivan is now a vice president at Clearswift, a software firm that offers technology to make sure confidential e-mails can't be cc'd inappropriately. The cost: about $30,000 for a company with 1,000 employees.

Such high-tech solutions are helpful, but many "cc" problems could be solved with some common sense and discretion. The first step is to understand key distinctions. The "to" line is for someone who needs to respond to an e-mail. The cc line is an "fyi" courtesy; usually, cc recipients needn't feel obliged to reply.

Middle managers haggling with other middle managers on a project should resist cc-ing the big boss on e-mail exchanges. "It's like running to the teacher," says Mr. O'Sullivan.

In a new study of e-mail usage in North America, more than half of respondents cite the "cc" and the "reply to all" functions as their chief pet peeve.

Among the solutions offered by experts:

Create rules: Establish written e-mail policies. Educate the work force about e-mail risk. Enforce rules with software.

Know your computer's capabilities: Some e-mail systems, such as Microsoft Outlook, let you identify less-urgent e-mails by color. You can also direct cc's to a subfolder in your inbox.

Hide sensitive e-mail addresses: That's when the bcc option makes sense. Among the sort of mistakes you'll avoid: During Robert Reich's campaign for governor, his staff put hundreds of subscribers on its e-newsletter's cc line, which allowed the competition (and spammers) to harvest their e-mail addresses.