Reply-All Strikes Again So today I (and the rest of the school) get an email from my college's enrollment services. It was sent, obviously, to the URI student listserv (URI_STUDENTS@listserv.uri.edu).→[More:]

The email was as follows:

Dear Students,

The IRS has asked that we distribute the following information to our students to ensure they are aware of the Free File programs and the education benefits they may be entitled to. We have also enclosed a helpful link to the IRS Website for Students.

Now at the bottom, in blue text, very noticeable, is the following note:

This electronic mail and any attachments have been forwarded to students enrolled at the Unversity of Rhode Island for the Spring 2009 semester as part of the IRS outreach efforts to inform students regarding specific tax benefits they may be eligible for. Please do not reply by return email. Contact information for the IRS is included in each attachment.

I forward the email to my mother, and she tells me that we're all set.

A few hours later, however, I get another reply about the email:

HI Andrew,
Unfortunately, or fortunately(however you want to look at it) Daddy makes too much to qualify for anything.
Love, Mom

-Cindy
#########@twcny.rr.com
315 ###-0694/ cell 315 ###-4439

For those of you who don't know, my name is Andrew. My mother's name, however, is not Cindy. So I have no clue what the hell is going on. I call my mom and ask her about it, and she tells me the woman probably sent it to the wrong Andrew (there is another person at my school with both my first and last name, so it's not impossible).

I email the woman and tell her she has the wrong email address. That's pretty embarrassing, I thought.

Turns out it's a whole lot worse.
The woman, apparently ignoring who the email was from, did not send it to me, or to her son, but to the entire URI student listserv.
...oh boy.

I've been at the student newspaper office all night, and we just now got an email from the best friend of this woman's son.
Apparently her son has been getting hundreds of facebook friend requests, and the phone numbers that were included at the end of the email have been getting phone calls all night.

The kicker?

According to this guy the woman is planning on "suing the school for all the disruption this has caused."

Hahahahaha. OK.

He sent an email a few minutes later saying something along the lines of "my friend and his mother are refusing to talk to anyone about it so if you want to do this story you'll have to do it through me."

Sorry pal, there's no story here, just you writing in about this woman's really unfortunate and careless mistake.

I love people. This made my night.