Email Faux Pas Can Now Be Political

Introducing a whole new way to start email exchanges off on the wrong foot: Obama- and McCain-themed email signatures.

Email Charity, a startup that offers free email signature templates for various charities, has launched an assortment of templates for supporters of Barack Obama or John McCain.

The slogan choices are not subtle: Women For Obama, Students for Obama, I Am Voting for Barack Obama, Obama-- Change We Believe In, I Vote For McCain, McCain Stands For Peace, McCain Stands for Prosperity, McCain Stands For Integrity, etc etc. There are 12 choices in all for Obama, and 11 for McCain.

Email Charity takes your contact information and handily installs the desired signature for use on either your email client (as an unmissable graphic banner) or your Web mail account (as more subtle plain text) in a matter of seconds.

Voila! From that point on, your partisan signature has the magical ability to turn even the most benign message into a major misstep.

It may seem a matter of common sense that this mode of political advertising should not be used in professional contexts, but there will undoubtedly be many zealous Obama and McCain supporters who thoughtlessly plaster the digital equivalent of a bumper sticker on messages to colleagues and clients.

The consequences far outweigh the benefits. With every message you run the risk of antagonizing or offending the recipient, who might (consciously or unconsciously) punish you for your views. Some people out there still believe that politics are a private matter; and even if they share your beliefs, will be turned off by your method of sharing them.

Even in the context of a personal email account, there's no real upside in using email to trumpet your political affiliation. If someone doesn't already know you well enough to know where you stand this election year, an email signature is probably not the ideal way to tell them.

Liz Gunnison