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The Truth About E-Mail In The Office
Eric S. Slater, Esq.
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| Misconception |
Reality |
| E-mails can
be deleted. |
E-mails can
almost always be recovered using utilities
or by checking recipients' workstations. |
| E-mails get
"lost" among the millions being
sent around the Internet. |
As the FBI's
Carnivore program illustrates, sophisticated
search tools can find almost e-mail from anyone1
. |
| E-mails go
to the people you address them to. |
E-mails are
often forwarded to people you don't know,
sometimes reaching a very broad audience. |
| Comments made in e-mail aren't
that powerful. |
Even if unintended by the sender,
certain comments or idle remarks can be perceived
as threats or harassment. There are numerous
writings on e-mail "etiquette"2.
For example, most e-mail users probably know
that using all capital letters is akin to
shouting. |
| You can send
e-mails from work in a personal capacity. |
The law recognizes
e-mails sent over company systems as official
company communications, regardless of the
content. Potential exposure is created each
time an employee uses corporate e-mail to
send personal messages to friends. |
| Private e-mail
messages are private. |
E-mails can
be accessed as part of an investigation and
cause liability for employers. Just ask Bill
Clinton about e-mail privacy when it came
to communicating with a certain intern. E-mails
can and are subpoenaed in legal investigations
during the discovery phase of litigation. |
| Your identity
is protected through e-mail communications. |
It is extremely
easy to duplicate someone's identity for the
purpose of sending fraudulent e-mail messages. |
1www.fbi.gov/congress/congress00/kerr090600.htm
(accessed January 2002).
2Examples of e-mail etiquette guides:
www.iwillfollow.com/email.htm,
www.larrysworld.com/articles/emailete.html,
http://email.wc.cc.va.us/Etiquette.htm,
www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/09/28/email.manners.idg,
www.state.ct.us/cmac/policies/netiqu.htm
(accessed January 2002).
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