Do You Enjoy Sunsets?
There's nothing wrong with enjoying a sunset alone (and certainly nothing wrong with preferring that to "enjoying" it together with 36 other people crammed in a small, oxygen-deprived mountain hut's guest room). There is, of course, nothing wrong with people who savor solitude and the wonderful moments it brings.
But sharing has its appeal, too. Lots of appeal. Here, taste that steak! Look, a balloon! Quick, you've got to see this!
Sharing Pays Rich Dividends
Yes, we want to share the good things to make them even better. A fabulous way to share things you find in your Inbox or on the web is via email, of course.
But Share Content, Not Email Addresses
But if you put all the addresses of all your friends in the To: line of an email you will not only share the email's content with these people but also everybody's address with — everybody.
Most people prefer not to have their email address revealed, and that long To: list does not look good either. Move the recipients to the Cc: field, and the effect is the same only one line down.
Make use of the Bcc: field, though, and you've become an instant privacy hero. All email addresses are automatically hidden! (If the thought that you are sending a message to people who have no idea that other people received the same message as well makes you uncomfortable, you can add a note to the beginning of the message that lists the fact — or even the recipients (minus their email addresses, of course).)
Send an Email to Undisclosed Recipients from Gmail
Now, to address a message in Gmail so that it goes to "undisclosed recipients" but arrives in all the real recipient's inboxes:
- Click Compose Mail to start a new message.
- Type "Undisclosed recipients <" followed by your Gmail address followed by a closing ">" in the To: field.
- If your Gmail address is rzr.onr@gmail.com, for example, this (not including the quotation marks) would go in the To: field: "Undisclosed recipients <rzr.onr@gmail.com>".
- Click Add Bcc.
- Type the email addresses of all intended recipients in the Bcc: field.
- Make sure you separate addresses by comma.
- If you write the same group of recipients repeatedly, you can make it a list.
- Now type the message and its subject, and finally click Send.
