Microsoft has begun rolling out a new email feature to Office 365 that specifically targets the “Reply All Storms” we all know and hate.
Stopping Email Storms in Microsoft 365: Preventing the Reply-All Pocalypse
What is a Reply All Storm? When an email hits a huge distribution list, sometimes people will use the Reply All feature, sending their simple response to everyone on the list within the organization. Others may do the same, resulting in a huge chain email that says relatively nothing useful but ends up in everyone’s inbox.
How it works: So far, Exchange (Office 365’s email client) detects any email that gets 10 reply-all responses to more than 5,000 recipients within 60 minutes. Any responses after that are blocked for four hours. Anyone who tries to send another Reply All will see something like the dialog box below.
Microsoft says the company plans to collect usage data and customer feedback to refine the system over time, "to make it even more valuable to a broader range of Office 365 customers." The feature has already had a positive impact at Microsoft itself, and the team hopes "it will benefit many other organizations as well."
