Sandra Salmon, Kings Grant Homeowners Association writes concerning active-technology.com webpage and articles: “You have some interesting info in there. Glad I read it and saved it in a special reference folder. I'd also like to THANK YOU for not listing everybody's email address when you sent it out. Some folks don't know how to do that and that might be one of your little "hints" in your next Blog, especially in these days when we all get so much "forwarded stuff".

Sandra, thank you for your kind letter and suggestion. We use the Bcc (Blind carbon copy) field on the address line to send the Weekly Blog to all of the folks without listing every email address, and this is how we do it:

Outlook Express: If your Cc., Bcc Field do not show up on your Email Window when you send an Email, bring up Outlook Express and a Blank email message to send, then left click on View at the top. Left Click on All Headers to put a Check Mark on it. Now your Cc. and Bcc Fields will show up on all of your Email Messages.

Outlook: Start you email by clicking “NEW” from the menu bar. Then click the “Options”drop-down menu and select Bcc.

In your email, you can also click “To” and select an address from your Contacts using the Bcc drop-down. Multiple address can be added if you separate them with a comma or semi-colon.

Bcc if perfect for things like newsletters where not listing all of the email addresses provides anonymity.

Not everyone wants their email address broadcast to the world. In addition, it will keep spammers from grabbing lists of names from newsletters for use on future spams.

There is another important benefit of using Bcc. If a newsletter Bcc recipient replies to the email, the only address listed are the ones found in the “To” and “Cc” fields, meaning that the rest of the newsletter recipients won’t be bothered with needless reply email. And that’s a good thing.

However, there is a “dark side” to Bcc, and experience within the office shows that this happens far too often. Example: A person may send a complaint or criticism to another person listing them in the “To” field. In addition, they may also send copies to their boss (or to the entire company) in the Bcc field. As a result, the “To” recipient may be deceived into believing that the email was private when actually it is now public knowledge. Imagine how you would feel if this happened to you! Therefore, it is a matter of personal integrity and business ethics to never misuse the Bcc in this manner.