In SharePoint, you can send email notifications when granting a user with access to SharePoint content. I have never been a big fan of this “Welcome Email.” The email is wordy, but often doesn’t provide enough context to users. Instead, I usually draft a personal email and notify the users separately.
Unfortunately, the “Welcome Email” option is selected by default. Easy to miss. So I have always encouraged users to be mindful and deselect this check box.
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Recently, I had a front row seat of yet another great reason why we should all stay away from SharePoint welcome emails. A Site Manager had added a Domain Group to SharePoint but neglected to turn off welcome emails. Normally it wouldn’t be such a big deal, but in this case, the Domain Group added was comprised of over 10,000 users. What ensued is undoubtedly a memorable lessons learned – here’s a recap of how the day unfolded.
It all started with that Welcome Email [Names and references have been altered]
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The team went proactive and tried recalling the message
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Of course, it didn’t help and instead, the message went *viral*. Here’s a small sample size of the email traffic fiasco.
The Unsubscribe Me Group
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The Angry Birds
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The Good Citizen (note: singular tense is not a mistype)
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The Clueless Bunch
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The “I Will Get You to Stop “Reply All” By Replying to All”
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So just to recap: Turn Off the SharePoint Welcome Emails.
You’ll thank me and this Site Manager later.
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