The Crime: It begins so innocently. An email is sent to a distribution list of 30 people. A simple piece of information, a short question. But then it happens. Someone—let’s call him Kevin—clicks “Reply All” to send a heartfelt “Thank you!” out into the world. That’s the signal. A chain reaction of biblical proportions is triggered. 29 other people now feel compelled to reply with “Great, thanks!”, “Received!”, or a thumbs-up emoji. Their inboxes explode in a confetti shower of trivialities.

The Motive: Mostly pure thoughtlessness, sometimes a desperate attempt to appear visible and engaged.

The Digital Etiquette: Before you click “Reply All,” pause and ask yourself: “Does EVERYONE on this planet really need to see my reply?” In 99.9% of cases, the answer is: No.

The Crime: You receive an email. The subject line reads: “Question.” Or “Info.” Or even worse: It’s completely blank. This message is the digital equivalent of a mysterious, unlabeled package ticking silently outside your door. You have to open it to find out if it’s a raise or an unpleasant task for Friday afternoon. Searching for this email later in your archive is like an archaeological expedition without a treasure map.

The Motive: A mixture of laziness and the mistaken belief that your own world is the only one that exists.

The Digital Etiquette: Be a title hero! A good subject line is worth its weight in gold. The simple formula is: [Project/Topic]: [What needs to be done/What’s it about?]. Example: “Marketing Budget Q4: Please approve by Friday.” Clear. Precise. Searchable.

The Crime: You open an email and are greeted by a wall of text. No paragraphs. No bullet points. Just an endless stream of sentences cascading across your screen like a literary waterfall. Somewhere in this epic, between the company history and the author’s detailed thoughts on the weather, lies the one piece of information you actually need.

The Motive: The irrepressible urge to share every detail, often coupled with an inability to be concise.

The Digital Etiquette: Nobody has time for “War and Peace” between meetings. Structure your thoughts! Use short paragraphs, bold keywords, and above all, the magical invention of bullet points. If an email becomes longer than three paragraphs, a phone call or a brief conversation is often the better option.

The Crime: For this guy, everything is an emergency. Every one of his emails is marked with the highest priority (red exclamation mark), and the subject line screams at you with “URGENT!!! PLEASE READ IMMEDIATELY!!!” After the fifth time, you realize it’s usually just a request to answer a trivial question. The result: If the server actually does burn down, everyone ignores his emails because he’s called the digital wolf one too many times.

The Motive: A touch of narcissism and the belief that his own tasks are more important than everyone else’s.

The Digital Etiquette: The red exclamation mark is reserved for real emergencies. Real emergencies are: “The server is on fire,” “An important client is threatening to leave,” or “We’ve run out of coffee.” Everything else can wait.

The Crime: Without warning, this colleague sends you an email with an attachment the size of a small car. A 50 MB PowerPoint presentation with high-resolution photos from the last company party, or an uncompressed video. Your inbox groans, your Outlook freezes, and your mobile data allowance is used up for the month.

The Motive: Technical ignorance or simple indifference to other people’s digital resources.

Digital Etiquette: For large files, there are wonderful inventions called cloud storage (OneDrive, SharePoint, WeTransfer, etc.). Simply send a link. Your colleague and their inbox will thank you.

The Crime: The CC line is his weapon. He uses it insidiously in two ways. Variant A: the “cover CC.” He puts the boss in CC to prove that he delegated a task to you. Variant B: the “smear CC.” He replies to your email and CCs your supervisor to subtly suggest that you made a mistake. It’s the most passive-aggressive form of warfare.

The Motive: Lack of trust, cowardice, or the desire to shirk responsibility.

Digital Etiquette: The CC line is for informational purposes only, not for escalation or cover. Resolve issues directly with the individuals involved. A strong team needs trust, not CC chains.

The Crime: You send a completed report or a detailed outline. Minutes later, you receive a reply. The content: “OK.” Or: “Thanks.” Or: “Done.” This email has no informational value whatsoever, but it generates another notification and fills your inbox with digital clutter. A pointless ping-pong game begins.

The Motive: Often a habit disguised as politeness.

The Digital Etiquette: If an email doesn’t require a reply, don’t send one. Many programs (like Outlook or Teams) have a “Like” function designed precisely for this purpose: to provide confirmation without generating a new email.

Conclusion: We are all perpetrators and victims in this daily email war. But perhaps, just perhaps, we can make the world—or at least our own inboxes—a little bit better. How many of these sins did you recognize yourself in? Be honest. We won’t tell anyone else.