In an irony that proves the technical struggles of some within the legal profession, the alumni and students of Columbia Law School recently found themselves in a feedback loop of frustration, triggered by a single, erroneous email distributed to a listserv made up of around 4,000 recipients. The root of this digital pandemonium? An undergraduate Student Assistant (TA) mistakenly included the large listserv on an email regarding an earth science course.
Despite their prestigious education, many of the recipients lacked proper email etiquette or technical know-how. The inbox of each was flooded as recipients attempted to extricate themselves from the error, ironically by replying-all with requests to unsubscribe. This misguided response not only exacerbated the volume of unwanted emails, but it also vastly extended the lifespan of this digital distress.
Witnesses to this unfolding email drama reiterated the absurdity of the scenario. It seemed baffling that graduates of an elite law school could not discern the simple logic that replying-all with unsubscription requests would only further compound the issue.
The concept of Listservs is almost four decades old. Surprisingly, this incident illustrates that its correct usage still confounds a significant number of users, proving that technical competence is not synonymous with high education level.
Picturesque as the reports paint it, one brave individual did attempt to educate the masses, offering some rudimentary instructions about handling such an event in the future. Predictably, their noble efforts fell on deaf ears and the chaos continued.
In a sobering footnote to this tale, it’s apparently not the first time Columbia Law School has seen such a fiasco. Ostensibly, there seems to be room still for some chapters in the curriculum on the etiquette of digital communication.
The detailed account of this incident can be found on Above the Law’s website.