1. When you forward an e-mail, delete all of the other addresses that appear in the body of the message (at the top). Highlight them and delete them - it only takes a second. You must click the 'Forward' button first and then you will have full editing capabilities. If you don't click on 'Forward first, you won't be able to edit the message at all.
2. Whenever you send an e-mail to more than one person, do not use the To: or Cc: fields for adding e-mail addresses. If you're forwarding something to more than one person, please be courteous and use the BCC for more addresses. Always use the BCC: (blind carbon copy) field for listing all the e-mail addresses. If you don't see the BCC: option, click on To: and your address list will appear. Highlight the address and choose BCC:.
3. Remove any 'FW:' in the subject line. You can re-name the subject if you wish or even fix spelling.
4. Always hit your Forward button from the actual e-mail you are reading. Ever get those e-mails that you have to open 10 pages to read the one page with the information on it? By Forwarding from the actual page you wish someone to view, you stop them from having to open many e-mails just to see what you sent. Also, while you're in 'forward' mode and deleting previous names and addresses, scroll to the end of the message and delete all the ads and anti-virus information. It's frustrating to read a joke, then have to scroll down past pages and pages of this stuff to see if there is any more of the message. So when you forward, delete the junk before AND after the intended message.
5. Have you ever received an e-mail that is a petition? It states a position and asks you to add your name and to forward it to 10 or 15 people or your entire address book. The e-mail can be forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and e-mail addresses. The completed petition is actually worth a couple of bucks to a professional spammer because of the wealth of valid names and e-mail addresses contained therein. Do not put your e-mail address on any petition. If you want to support the petition, send it as your own personal letter to the intended recipient. Your position may carry more weight as a personal letter than a laundry list of names and e-mail addresses on a petition. (And don't believe the ones that say that the e-mail is being traced; it just isn't so!)

Most e-mail petitions are worthless because they do not fully identify the signer by street address, etc., nor does it prove that the signer really signed it. It could be just one person writing all those names on the list. Don't forward them. 

Some of the other e-mails to delete and not forward are:

1. The one that says something like, "Send this e-mail to 10 people and you'll something great will happen." Or sometimes they'll just tease you by saying "something really cute will happen." It won't happen, no matter how many you send it to or how long you wait - it isn't going to happen.
2. Don't let the bad luck ones scare you either. They should be deleted as should the ones that try to guilt you into thinking that if you don't forward certain e-mails that you are ashamed of Christ and He will therefore be ashamed of you! Come on ... if you choose to delete and not spread the spam, there is no way that Christ will be ashamed of you, and forwarding it doesn't automatically get you into heaven!
3. . Before you forward an "Amber Alert", or a "Virus Alert", or some of the other e-mails floating around nowadays, check them out before you forward them. Most of them are junk mail that's been circling the net for years! Just about everything you receive in an e-mail that is in question can be checked out at Snopes. Just go to http://www.snopes.com/. It's easy to find out if it's real or not. If it's not, please don't pass it on. 

So please, in the future, let's stop the junk mail and the viruses.

Also get rid of the advertisements at the bottom of your e-mails! You pay for your internet - why advertise free for them? If they want advertisement, let them pay you to use your space!

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