I also agree that more training to handle emails is needed

RSS will eventually replace email

Read: Why Blogging is Essential to Your Business

http://ebusinesszoom.com/?p=82

In short, we will redirect all mass emails to syndicated, subject-based blogs to which end users have either mandatory or optional subscriptions.

The difficulty in email training is avoiding the appearance of calling the email abuser’s baby ugly. When you say, “Jim, I’d rather you didn’t copy me on X.”, what Jim hears is “Jim, what you do is worthless, and so are you. Please write me when you are doing something more important.”

Therefore, I suggest these guidelines.
1. Use life-like examples without actually incriminating anyone in the training.
2. Give each email rule a short name such as “CC expects no reply”. Particularly effective are insider nonsense names that remind everyone of a common story. “Sorry, no bananas here.” Even stupid acronyms work well. “NASGAR”
3. Don’t castigate violators by reminding them why their behavior is unacceptable. Yes, you do have to be specific, but don’t explain it, or you’re perceived as patronizing, moralizing and insulting. Simply state the rule, “Jim, I didn’t reply because ‘Sorry, no bananas here.’”
4. Pick your battles. In a rush, even the most obedient peer will TO instead of CC. Officiously calling attention to every violation will only result in your unofficial–yet oft used title–Spam Nazi. And Holy [Robin explicitive]! You don’t ever want to make a mistake yourself. You’ve be hoist on your own petard.
5. Use common scripts and tools across the company. It’s one way for the tool to guide the users to correct behavior without you being the cop. “Sorry, Jim, I didn’t notice your urgent request at first because you TOed more than one person and my script didn’t flag it as important.” Jim is more likely to understand if he has the exact same behavior for his email.
6. Have automated reports that flag potential violations. “Jim, this report shows you sent email to the entire company 13 times last month.”
7. Have short, clearly written policies.
8. Above all, do the training. Even if you don’t get it exactly right at first–who does?–it’s better than assuming people will use good sense. First, they don’t have good sense, or you wouldn’t be reading this. Second, your kind assumption won’t be appreciated. Third, training won’t make the situation worse. It’s a small investment with a potentially huge payoff in productivity.

One root cause is that people think what they have to say is important. (Actually they think they are important, and what they say only reflects it, proves it.) In short, they like to be heard (or read), and responded to.

So even after getting rid of the easily detected Viagra spams, you still have to deal with genuine, but misguided, people. People, who will resist your tools whenever the tool silences or even delays their messages. And unlike bacteria that take a decade to resist a new drug, people will circumvent the tool in days.

I agree that training and discipline in handling email is needed. I further agree that the tools used must involvethe users. Indeed, “help US make better decisions and gently steer US towards a more efficient way of communicating.” [capitalization emphasis added] To be successful, the tool (or technique or culture…) must convince people that by using it, they will be heard and responded to more.