EXPLAINED: Bad manager revenge mailing lists - The Real Truth

The people you work with make a huge difference in your life. Your colleagues can make or break your job, and your managers have even more of an impact. Some bosses are so horrid that they force their staff to get creative in ways just to keep their heads above water. And in some cases, this means taking back control and getting revenge in the workplace.

One frustrated and exhausted employee was so overwhelmed by her micromanaging boss, who kept making her life extremely difficult, that she decided to sign him up for every email list she could find. You’ll find the full story and the internet’s reactions below.

Micromanagers are more than a micro annoyance

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

So one worker came up with an ingenious idea to get back at her boss

Image credits: unhappy-ai

Image credits: bygloricom (not the actual photo)

A clogged-up inbox is a bigger issue than many people realize

OP’s strategy is a time-honored classic, particularly as mailing lists “help” to make sure the unwanted email ends up straight in the person’s inbox and not in the spam folder. These days, mostly for the better, emailing services tend to know when an incoming message is wanted and when it’s a scam.

Internet historians believe that the first spam email was sent in 1978 by a man named Gary Thuerk, a marketing manager. This somehow feels deeply correct. Unlike its modern equivalents, which can reach millions of people in minutes, his email was sent out to a “mere” 600 addresses out there.

Unfortunately, in the current day and age, spam is still a massive, unceasing, but unnoticed part of emailing. Some research suggests that up to 90% of all global email traffic are spam messages. It’s honestly a miracle of spam filters that all of us aren’t struggling with thousands of daily emails. Shockingly, a massive portion of this spam can be traced back to around 200 spammers.

This is even worse if you are a public figure, particularly one with money. Bill Gates, reportedly, receives around four million emails per year, the vast majority of which are spam. This was just in 2004, one has to imagine the strain his address alone puts email servers under. This, among other things, is one of the main reasons Gmail and most other popular mail services now just delete old spam messages.

Image credits: Adam Satria (not the actual photo)

Revenge is a pretty cathartic experience when done in moderation

Of course, the author, quite cleverly, got around this by simply making it look like her annoying boss voluntarily added his email address to these various lists. On top of a classic bit of revenge, this is also a wonderful way to keep him so busy sorting messages every single day that he doesn’t have time to micromanage.

It’s also important to note that revenge brings with it a feeling of justice, which is more important than one might think. After all, all too often people in power who misuse that same power end up suffering few, if any, negative consequences. The author describes the various ways this particular boss is a pain in the rear end. The knowledge that she pulled a fast one on him and got away with it is no doubt a cherished memory.

Like anyone who has had to deal with a terrible manager or boss, retaining some power by inconveniencing them is deeply satisfying. Bonus points if they can’t even get back at you for it. This is also the core of why so many people flock to these stories. A revenge plot follows the most solid story structure, complete with a protagonist and a wrong put right. This is perhaps why people are so open about sharing work-stories, it’s both interesting, a warning to others, and, importantly, catharsis.

The author shared some more details with the readers

People thought this was a hilarious move

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