Do you cc yourself on emails?

[halfpint]

Why?

I have a colleague who cc's herself on pretty much every email ever. Like she'll send me a question, cc herself. 

I can't figure out why one would do this. Outlook saves your sent messages. To me, it always feels a bit like an "I'm watching you" message. "You'd better respond, because I'm tracking this!" Not quite as annoying as someone who cc's your boss, I guess. 

I can't figure out the benefit to this, especially for rather mundane email requests. 

[SJ]

It has never occurred to me, and I can't think of any reason why someone would do this.

[Deleted]

I don't. I have coworkers who do. They say it makes searching easier, then you only have to search the inbox.

[irene adler]

Hmm, I wonder if my cw does this. She likes to loudly announce "I have xxx emails! Better sit down and check them!"

[keweenawlove]

My boss doesn't this too and I've never been able to figure out why. Isn't that what your sent folder is for?

[evans]

No. Sent mail is there for a reason.

[Mushe]

Our sent messages are automatically cleared every 90 days, and I have a lot of work that I end up needing to easily refer to old messages on a pretty frequent basis. If it's one of those that I know I may need to refer to, I'll bcc myself and then save it in a folder that isn't purged. I know that there are archive options, but I prefer to keep these 'need to save' messages in my regular folders.

But there are some here that cc themselves on the most mundane crap, which I don't understand. At least bcc yourself, so you don't look like an idiot.

[spidervain]

Our work email server is set up in a way that my sent messages on my phone don't make it back to the server/my desktop. If I want a sent email that I sent on my phone on my desktop computer then I have to cc myself. Outlook even offers this as a toggle box to have all sent emails cc'ed.

FWIW, I don't actually do this very often, but there are functional reasons for some situations.

[Deleted]

Maybe she uses her inbox as a way of tracking what's currently going on? So if she has an active message in her inbox related to an issue, she knows it's not yet been addressed. If it was in the sent mail, she may not notice it.

I don't do this myself, but that's the only reason I can think of why?

[So_Fetch]

I do only if it's something I need to keep track of and remember to follow up on.

[v]

I've worked for people who do that. I'd assume it is to make sure they're filing the emails they send off away too, and it can be easier than sifting through sent mail? My folders only ever have what I receive in them, which can be flawed.

[mbcdefg]

Nope.

At another company, a middle-aged woman was hired and after she sent an email to someone she'd re-send it to herself and then file it in a sub-folder in Outlook. I tried to tell her that the Sent folder would have it, but she said she preferred to do it her way. She didn't last very long at the company because it took her forever to do anything

[katiecj6]

I BCC myself sometimes on emails that I need to track or save in a special way.

Then I take all the emails to myself and do it at once. It's faster then going in my sent folder.

(I do this for maybe a dozen emails a week.)

[ECB]

I don't but I know someone who does. I figure he has his reasons. Perhaps he saves all the messages to specific folders and it's easier to just grab them from his inbox. Who knows.

[Deleted]

My crazy Dean who I was the Executive Assistant to wanted me to cc herself on all emails I sent out from her account. I tried a few times to explain the sent folder, but she just kept saying "But I NEED a copy of this too!" No woman, you don't. And if you do, check the sent folder.

Granted since she was the Dean there were some important emails, but most were mundane. She would come into my office and dictate mundane emails ("Steve have you finished this report yet?" and "Reminder: dress code is casual for the college barbecue on Saturday") and then expect me to cc her on these emails.

[moolarkey]

Sometimes - because it puts it in my inbox and I see it as an unread message. While I do use my calendar for reminders, this does work well too.

[ally]

Jan 28, 2015 12:35:11 GMT -5 v said:

I've worked for people who do that. I'd assume it is to make sure they're filing the emails they send off away too, and it can be easier than sifting through sent mail? My folders only ever have what I receive in them, which can be flawed.

When I do this it is for this reason.  Though I BCC myself so it is not obvious to anyone else!

[raangoli]

No; I go into my send folder and save that email to another folder if I need to have it for more than 90 days.

[WOT?*]

I sometimes bcc if I feel it's an important enough message I want to make certain goes to the recipients or I want a reminder for something. It consoles my ADD worries that if I receive it, they must have also received it unless I get a kickback mailer-response.

[Deleted]

What a weirdo.

[awick14]

When I first started using the email on my iPhone it did this, I had to manually change the settings.

Now if it's a work email I am sending I do cc my supervisor's boss because then my boss knows it needs to be dealt with. He somehow "losses" emails when I don't cc his boss.

[heliocentric]

I don't, but for some reason when I respond to certain emails that originated outside my company it automatically happens. Usually I see my name appear and delete it, but sometimes I forget. It never happens when I respond to internal mail, though. I always assumed it was a fluke and had no idea people actually used that feature.

[hainesherway]

Only on really important ones that I need to file and go back to refer to. And even then, I blind cc myself so no one knows.

[dottyblue]

I do, but only time sensitive items or items that require my follow up. I informally use my inbox as my "to do" list (in addition to 3 paper lists... I'm a mess), so I want a copy of anything that needs my attention front-and-center in my inbox.

[niq]

Isn't this what "Sent Mail" is for? Why would you CC yourself? So that it shows up in your inbox, which you're using as a todo list?

If it's the latter, I've used Boomerang to move the thread into my inbox the next day or whatever.

[halfpint]

I'm sure she's got some filing system, I guess...she seems otherwise smart and capable. I would just BCC myself if I didn't think I was capable of using the sent items folder.

I always think the cc: line conveys a bit of an unspoken message, but maybe I'm overly aware of it.

[HitchedIn2006]

Yes I see this happen and it drives me crazy! But on a sad side note, I have to cc my boss on EVERY friggin email. Worst boss ever #MicroManager

[blondemoment123]

No. My inbox is full enough without me emailing myself.

[candyland]

No, I do not do this. I do organize my sent items in folders. I would probably bcc if I felt the need to copy myself...but still cannot think of a reason why I would need to do this.

[HitchedIn2006]

Jan 28, 2015 19:35:10 GMT -5 @songforyou said:

Jan 28, 2015 15:15:44 GMT -5 HitchedIn2006 said:

Yes I see this happen and it drives me crazy! But on a sad side note, I have to cc my boss on EVERY friggin email. Worst boss ever #MicroManager

WTF! MMers have been having great job hunting luck lately. Please start looking.

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