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In today’s age of “technology”, with multi-function cellular telephones, text messages, virtually instant email, etc., most would agree that common etiquette in communication has been abandoned. Speed over etiquette and courtesy seems to be paramount and folks hit “send” or “enter” before reading their missive.
Technology has sped the repartee between sender and receiver and sender and receiver.
In our co-op (505 units), our technology preference is that we do not provide any resident with our office email addresses or those of the Board Members.
In the first case, our office staff has enough work without being recipients of emails from perhaps hundreds of residents with a never ending email thread.
Our Board Members as noted elsewhere in these postings are shareholders first and foremost and thus deserving of privacy and quiet enjoyment of their domicile. Thus, it is the Board Member’s option if he or she wishes to share an email address.
Our avowed position is that we do not wish to use emails for “official” correspondence between the corporation and the shareholder or between the Board Member and a shareholder – at any time.
Imagine this scenario.
• A court case emerges and a shareholder is a plaintiff, but it could be the co-op that is the plaintiff.
• In the course of discovery process, the attorneys ask for all correspondence.
• Yup, emails fall within the “net” of discovery.
• The court agrees and allows the “discovery”.
• Now all co-op PCs, one’s personal PCs and others and the emails within are subject to any “discovery” subpoena.
• Others you ask?
• Yes, imagine if you cc:’ed yourself to your own office email address, or someone in the co-op office sent you a copy of the shareholder’s email at your business email address.
• You wouldn’t send a shareholder an email from your office email address, would you? (This is not far fetched.)
• Now, one has dragged his or her corporation onto the discovery process and one’s corporation must expend resources to search its email archive files for any emails.
• In turn, one’s corporate general council needs to be engaged. The saga and the outcome are not pretty.
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Bottom line for us…..no email correspondence with the shareholders – ever!!
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GP raises some interesting points. I would note, however, that if Board members are corresponding among themselves using e-mail, you have exactly the same problems with these e-mails being subject to discovery in a lawsuit. The distinction between intra-Board and Board-to-shareholder e-mail is artificial.
Not that I suggest abandoning e-mail; quite the contrary. Just follow some common-sense guidelines:
* Treat e-mail exactly as you would a letter. Recognize that everything you write may ultimately be read by an opposing attorney in a lawsuit.
* Use only your personal account for sending e-mail.
* Don't use "It's only e-mail" as an excuse for writing illiterate gibberish. (This is good policy in general.)
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Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.