The short answer is; you never ever know, so treat each one as if you’re telling the world. Countless court cases have come down the wrong way due to so called ‘private emails’ being made very, very public.

The lesser end of the spectrum is just personal or professional embarrassment.

Below is a screen capture of an email that was forwarded to me from a friend who received it from one his friends.

It’s a funny little analogy. But to me, what makes it even funnier is who it’s coming from. Or more correctly, the profession of the originator – a counsellor  (sort of a budget shrink).

When the ‘joke’ and the signature are read together it’s a short walk to see this guy is pretty much saying, ‘if your life is fucked, I can’t help you’.

So the lesson for today; learn how to remove your ‘business’ signature when sending unrelated emails.There’s probably others to do with professional misconduct but I’m no expert in those matters.