UPDATE: “Replyallcalypse” Hits Fordham, Bifera Responds

By IAN MCKENNA

 

Any student with their Fordham email synced with their smartphone will recognize this image. (Photo Illustration by Ian McKenna/The Observer)
Any student with their Fordham email synced with their smartphone will recognize this image. (Photo Illustration by Ian McKenna/The Observer)

Earlier this year, a student at New York University replied-all to a message sent to the entire university, starting what Gawker called the “Replyallcalypse.”

A version of this “Replyallcalypse” has finally hit Fordham University.

Lucas Bifera, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’13, said in his initial email, he’s “always wondered if this would work, and so today [his] curiosity has finally got the best of [him].”

“I’m just getting bunch of phone calls and emails and text messages from everyone saying ‘Stop this!’ So…yeah,” Bifera said of the reactions so far in a phone interview.

“To be honest with you, my curiosity about whether or not the [email protected] stems back to freshman year, actually, when I got an email from the administration who had the CC and, underneath that, had the [email protected],” Bifera said. “And I thought to myself, as just a freshman, ‘Wow! I wonder if I sent this email, if all the students would, in fact, receive it.’

Of the incident this morning, Bifera said that it was three years in the making.

“It wasn’t even an impulse. It was years and years of thought and curiosity that, today, culminated in this email.”

Of the reacion, Bifera said that, “It seems like most people are just generally interested in being removed from the list, although you would think that the Fordham students, given that we are all on computers all day, would be able to discern that [email protected] would be a list you could not be removed from.”

While Bifera said that many students have been hostile or over-aggressive regarding the chain email, he also said that, “A lot of students have been appreciative of some traces of novelty.”

“I have also got some phone calls from people who have told me to get a hobby and get a girl friend, of which I have several,” Bifera said.

Of Fordham’s reaction, Bifera said that he believes they are “a litte flustered” but also aware of the loophole he has exposed.

“I think they are working pretty diligently right now. I think they are going to do a good job to counteract the problem right now,” Bifera said.

This intentional use of the “[email protected],” which sends an email to the university, has coaxed hundreds of responses, including:

“I hate this, what have you DONE!? GOOD GOD LEMON!”

“”Who are you people? Stop emailing me!!!!!”

“Happy 4/20”