"It's a miracle!"
Posted on 01/31/2025 8:23:16 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The evolution of technology is unrelentingly swift. Generations have witnessed state-of-the-art inventions become obsolete in the blink of an eye. The fax machine, the pager, and the landline, all once revolutionary, have earned their place in the annals of history. Yet email — born in 1971 when engineer Ray Tomlinson sent the very first “ping” — has remarkably endured. This persistent form of communication continues to redefine itself for the digital age, but one enigmatic email feature hasn’t changed for over 50 years: the “cc.”
The “cc” field is a familiar sight perched within the recipient line of an email. The purpose is to send a copy of the message to an additional recipient who might need the information, but isn’t integral to the action of the message. Its modern definition traces back to its original usage in the late 19th century, when a duplicate was called a “carbon copy.”
Around the 1870s, long before photocopiers, documents were painstakingly duplicated by hand using carbon paper between two sheets of plain paper. Something written or typed on the top page would be transferred to the bottom piece of paper through the pressure on the carbon (essentially ink). The exact replica was called a “carbon copy.” By the 1920s, the term “carbon copy” had shifted to figuratively describe something that was a near-identical replica, such as “Mark was a carbon copy of his father.” This usage made its way into corporate America in the 1930s, when it was used in business as shorthand to ensure that multiple parties received the same information.
When email emerged in the 1970s, “cc” was quickly adapted, as the jargon was already familiar in professional circles. The concept of the “bcc” (blind carbon copy) soon followed, allowing a sender to conceal recipients entered in the “bcc” field. In the 1980s, the use of “cc” became so prevalent that it evolved into a verb, as in, “I cc’d Amy on that message.”
Even as digital technology seems to be on the cusp of the next big thing,”cc” is here to stay. The anachronism has survived 150 years, evolving from an industrial-era hand-copying tool into an indispensable feature of email etiquette, cementing its place in communication with one simple click.
Or put something in the Frigidaire.
-PJ
I wonder how many folks here will get that one? I did
I think it would take an act of Parliament for them to get it.
Just stop calling it, “Carbon Copy,” and start calling it a “Courtesy Copy,” and be done with it.
For the same reason the “Save” icon is still an image of a floppy disc, even though I doubt almost anyone under 35 has ever seen a floppy disc.
Oomg, I’ve seen so many weaponized BCC office-politics emails back in mt ofice day, it’s LOL-worthy.
People were BCC forwarding BCCs until at the end of the day, I’m quite sure everyone at that point saw the original email and subsiquent CCs and BCCs.
Mimeograph was a godsend for grading papers...
Ha! Now I have to clean coffee splatter off the screen and desk.
Or go Ski Doo'ing or blowing your nose in a Kleenex.
A double whammy.
...or cameras film.
Ditto that!
cc = “curtesy copy” (?)
I’m that old, too. I remember when you made a typo, you inserted this metal thing in between each carbon copy and manually erased the typo on each copy, then rolled the papers back in place typed over it. I was ecstatic when computers became common.
An indication of knowledge and willingness to gain it?
The inventor of White out made millions.
People who use “clip” instead of “magazine” should be slowly tortured to death.
And Chuck Schumer must clean his gun with his tongue.
Just wait till the greenies find out that emails are making excess carbon
Somewhat-anachronistic symbology in desktop computing still used in 2025:
Trashcan: for deleting (or holding discarded) files
Phone receiver: to indicate a following telephone (even if its a cell or smartphone) number to call
Envelope: to indicate a following electronic email address
Folder: For holding electronic files
Dog-eared rectangle (piece of paper: to indicate an electronic file
Small-rectangle-over-large-rectangle: to indicate a following fax (machine) number
Rectangle-over-square or two tall rectangles side-by-side: to indicate an electronic file archive or electronic file cabinet.
“white out” — ugh. What an abomination that goo was. Remember blowing on the paper to get the stuff to dry?
I remember the white tape you could put down and then type over. I think that was way before “white out” goo.
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