Do you dread being cc’d?

Who invented the cc? I’d like to know, because I’d like to tell him (or her) that his (or her) simple notation to let people know who’s getting a copy (originally of a letter or memo, but now of an e-mail) has been perverted. It’s now a tool for electronic intimidation in the workplace.

To wit: I got an e-mail from our CFO. It said:

“Cassandra—Need status of project X. Concerned about deadline. Don’t want to leave people hanging.”

Cc’d on the e-mail: My department VP.

It was as if he had written:

“Dear Peon, you may have told me the status of the project 100 times, but I don’t care. I’m a big important guy, and I don’t have time to be responsible and read the status reports you send. Just to show you that I can, I’m going to cc the highest person in your management chain to make sure that you’ll get in really big trouble if you don’t produce. In case you were in any doubt, your derrière is on the line. Now hop to.”