15 Years: #11 of 15

11. No nastygrams on email.
We've all been guilty of it before, but why learn the hard way?  If we can avoid it, one should never, never, never ever send a berating, negative, or mean message via email.  Period.  Those kind of messages should always be delivered in person, and if we can't do that, then we should talk to them on the phone.  It's the same reason why your doctor says, "We ran some tests and I need to see you in my office tomorrow."  Or when your boyfriend takes you out to dinner and says, "It's not you, it's me."  Delivering bad news in person is the right thing to do.  (Even if that jerk on my last date was very wrong to dump me.  It was totally you, dude, not me.)

So don't send it in an email.
It can be misinterpreted. 
It can be copied to the world.
It can start a nuclear war.
Don't do it if for no other reason than email is forever.  Forever.  We don't own it, and deleting it is just a  false illusion of security.  We don't own that message, our company's Outlook server does, and if we think it can't come back to haunt us, then we are just silly little fools.   Plus, have I said it's the right thing to do?