Mary Killen Mary Killen

Dear Mary | 6 August 2011

Your problems solved

issue 06 August 2011

Q. I am a governor of a top girls’ school in central London. When we are invited by the headmistress to school events by email, one of the other governors replies to every person in the group email. Obviously this reflects rather badly on my fellow governor — either she has not grasped the significance of the ‘reply to all’ box or she honestly thinks we are all interested in knowing that she cannot attend this summer’s junior ballet demonstration. How can we stop her doing this without causing offence? It is just another unwanted email.

—B.L., Harrow, Middlesex

A. Deal with the nuisance tactfully in the following manner. Next time the headmistress invites you, click ‘reply to all’ yourself when you RSVP. Five minutes later, click reply to all again and email everyone, including the offender of course, an apology for having wasted their precious time by cluttering up their inboxes with an announcement which could be of no conceivable interest to them.

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