Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters
For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
More E-Mail Newsletters 
Computerworld 2007Subscribe to Computerworld
40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.

Accidental e-mail congratulates 7,000 on admission to UC Berkeley law school

Lesson learned: Always be careful when hitting the ‘send’ button
 

Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

February 24, 2006 (Computerworld) -- Edward Tom, director of admissions at the University of California, Berkeley, law school, was training a new office worker last week when it happened.

Tom was demonstrating the e-mail software used by the school and was highlighting several features, including how the user can filter mail and set it to send messages to one recipient or many at the same time.

That’s when he chose what happened to be a standard congratulatory message on being admitted to the university’s prestigious law school and accidentally sent it to all 7,000 students who have applied for admission to the law school. The problem, which the school quickly admitted, is that all of the applicants won’t be admitted. In fact, there’s only room for 800 to 850 of them. The e-mail congratulated the applicants on their recent “admission” to the school and invited them to an annual reception co-hosted by alumni and several student organizations.

“I hit the Send button,” Tom said, describing the mistake. “Normally when we do [training] for real, I have another person on staff who’s an expert.” But that worker was not available when the new employee started last Friday.

“I’ve never had a glitch with that expert in six years of training new staff members,” Tom said. “It takes a bumbling fool like me.”

After realizing what had happened, Tom sent out an apology e-mail to the applicant pool within 20 minutes. He sent another letter of apology the next day.

“I deeply regret any confusion or disappointment this error may have caused,” Tom said. “I know that many law school applicants are particularly anxious while awaiting the arrival of decision letters, and I regret that this incident may have added to that tension.”

Tom said he has since talked with workers in the school’s IT department to see if the software vendor can add a pop-up dialog box to the application to give users a last chance to confirm that they are about to send out e-mail.

So far, about 500 applicants to the school have actually been offered admission. The remainder will be notified in the next three weeks, with the process expected to be completed by the first week of April.

Tom said that about 10 applicants who received the errant e-mail informed him that were very distraught after learning that it was a mistake. About 90 others sent notes to him offering their understanding and accepting his apology.




Print this Story Send Us Feedback E-mail this Story Digg! Digg this Story Slashdot this Story
"It's IT Blogwatch: in which billionaire investor Carl Icahn starts a proxy fight to restart the Microsoft/Yahoo merger talks. Not..." Read more...
"I've just put the beta of OpenOffice 3 through its paces, and found that the office suite can do just..." Read more...
Read more Desktop Applications posts or See all Blogs
Mozilla launches Firefox 3.0 RC1 early
Microsoft: Don't misunderstand UAC, other Vista features
HP confirms XP SP3 endless reboot snafu, promises patch
More top stories...
Microsoft pulls Windows Home Server backup feature
Yahoo tells Icahn that its own board knows best
Tools circulate that crack Debian, Ubuntu keys
Specialists have retrieved about 99% of the data on a disk drive on board the crashed space shuttle Columbia. Don't miss the photographs of the recovered drive.
These big ideas were supposed to revolutionize technology, but they never actually appeared. In a few cases, you'll be glad they didn't.
Nearly 20 years after the first Internet worm, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols takes stock of the malware/anti-malware landscape and spotlights how the two sides are approaching the battle.
Though some thought it was released too soon, Mac OS X 10.5 has matured into a solid operating system, says reviewer Michael DeAgonia.
Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS.
Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready?
All Zones
Application Performance Zone
Enterprise-Class Security Zone
Enterprise Solutions Zone
The File Data Management Zone
Grid Computing on Windows Zone
Security Management Zone
ITIL Best Practices Zone
The SAS Zone
Storage Virtualization Zone
The Data Center Management Zone

Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Computerworld Report: Storage Gets Strategic
Download this Computerworld Report, free, compliments of HP.
(Source: Computerworld) Data Storage has emerged from the back room to become a key part of regulatory compliance, disaster recovery and strategic tecnhology plans. Learn more in this new this Computerworld report, a $49.95 value, available free for a limited time, compliments of HP.
Download this executive briefing download
E-Mail As a Service: Time for Another Look?
E-Mail As a Service: Time for Another Look?
Download this webcast, compliments of Google.
Go to the webcast 
3 Building Blocks for a Profitable Green IT Strategy
Get this white paper now!
(Source: Verdiem) This practical white paper compares "greening" your IT department to "greening" your home: the key to a lasting return is starting with small steps. Learn how to create an IT carbon footprint baseline, draft a list of objectives, and implement for the best ROI.
Download this white paper go
White Papers
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
Securing Financial Services Beyond the Perimeter
Intercept Spam & Viruses With MessageLabs
Meeting PCI Compliance with SonicWALL Global Management System
View more whitepapers