‘BCC’ e-mail can backfire

How do I … send e-mail to several people but not reveal the identities of some?

Many people blind copy addressees, which sends the identical message to those in the bcc field of the message header.

We don’t like this method for the following reason: Suppose you sent a message to four people but bcc’d one of them (say it’s Jane). You don’t want the other three to know Jane got the message.

But Jane, when she gets the message, might choose the “reply-all” option and send back a comment. That reveals to the other three people that you kept her “blind” in the first message. They can regard that effort as sneaky on your part.

Better solution: don’t include Jane in the first message; just e-mail the others first but include your own e-mail address in the bcc field.

When it reaches you, just forward that message to Jane. No problems will ensue.

Bonus video How do I

This week’s video How do I is summer-themed.

Ever wondered if your grill-lighting and grill-management skills are subpar?

Look no further: We’ve found a couple of online videos that deal with exactly that topic.

How-to site Expert Village has a good collection of how-to films. This link is for a gaggle of grill tips: http://www.expert village.com/search.htm? tag=grill.

Very helpful is the one on connecting a propane tank to a grill.