Too Much of a Good Thing : Please SB Reply to One

Over the last 15-20 years Email has become a daily part of almost all our lives. It's an effective tool for quick communication in business, personal, and of course softball matters. For years managers have used emails (or text messaging) in softball for the following reasons:

• Notify players about the season
• Communicate costs
• Headcount
  
• Notify players of game/schedule changes
• Discuss strategy
• Recruiting
  

and their are many more positive aspects that emails have helped make organizing the softball experience a better place. I applaud all managers that use emails to these ends. However, much like anything in life, too much of a good thing is sometimes bad for you. In the softball email world, this is most evident in the dreaded Reply to All message.

Why do people love to Replay to All in Softball? If your CEO/boss sent out a company wide email, would write back a message to the whole company saying

• "I'm In"
• "I don't know"
  
• "Maybe"
  
• "You da man"
  
• "OK Boss"
• "Let's Kick Ass"
• "What are our stats looking like?"
• "Who we playing?"
  
• "Make that Money" or
  
• "Holler!!!!"

You would never do that as it would make them look at you like you were some sort of moron. I understand that softball is recreational and less formal, but that doesn't make replying to all acceptable. Whenever one of my skippers sends out a team email update I Never Reply to All. Check that I sent out one Reply to All message this year b/c it was my birthday and I wanted everyone to come out and play on Father's Day. That was a lunar eclipse rare Reply to All for me. I don't understand what possess softball players to fill up my inbox with Reply to All softball messages. As a standard in every mass softball email I send out in Jersey City I include the phrase "No mass emails please" too maintain email order and control b/c when one reply to all dog starts barking/tying away then everyone joins in to create chaos. It's annoying and unproductive. Replay to All perpetrators only really give me practice hitting the delete key immediately, as I know who the usual culprits are and don't even bother opening up their mindless messages. In fact, it starts the softball experience off on the wrong foot.

I've come with a list as to why softball players Reply to All on Softball emails:

• They are mindless
• Crave attention
• Nothing better to do than annoy others
• Too dumb to know better
• They are Rude
• Ass kissing
• Self-Serving (selfish)
  
• Looking to diss teammates or managers with power tripping back hand comments
• Ego maniacs
• Nice guys who care but sometimes go over board
  

I understand some teams have multiple managers/coaches and this Reply to All issue might be a necessary evil at times, but generally your manger/captain should be the only one reply to all and you should only respond to that email.

Try Reply to One - it might just improve communication and chemistry.