Email disclaimers
Just before I left the NERC, we were ‘encouraged’ to start putting on email disclaimers about how they may be released under the FOI act etc. etc. Given that when I arrived on the internet (1991 for the record) it was considered most impolite to have a signature of over 4 lines (something I adhere to with personal email, but find it hard to with work email with 2 offices, 2 phone numbers, a website and a long address) the spate of pointless email disclaimers that seemingly grow ever longer and more imbued with silly legalese is frustrating.
People often forget that email is not secure. Email is transmitted unencrypted and is not ‘point to point’ – it will hit dozens of servers on the way from originator to recipient, any (and all) of which would be capable of intercepting your communication. Trying to claim email is somehow private, is like claiming a postcard is private. What is especially stupid is seeing ‘this message is only intended for the eyes of the authorised recipient’ on a message posted to a mailing list archived online..
So when I saw this tagged onto an email today it made me smile:
ILLEGAL NOTICE
Unless expressly stated otherwise, this message is not confidential
and is definitely not privileged. It is intended not only for the
addressee(s), but for anyone who needs the information contained
herein. Access to this E-mail by anyone else is encouraged. If you
are not an addressee, any disclosure or copying of the contents is
authorized. Failure to disclose the contents of this message to those
who could benefit may be unlawful and is punishable by bad karma.
Furthermore, any notice deemed more restrictive than this notice is
hereby superceded by this notice, and all such notices are considered
cultural pollution which is punishable by applicable fines.
Somewhat adhering to the spirit of things – I like it.