Reader Jim Ross is the rare individual who not only receives countless jokes in email, but also cares enough to read and keep them. He writes:
I have a friend who sends me tons of humorous e-mails, but they all have the subject “Humor.” The ones I want to save all go into a Humor folder but I can’t tell them apart because they have the same subject heading. If I could change the subject, reviewing the e-mail items in the Humor folder would be a whole lot easier.
The most effective solution would be to contact the sender and ask that they create a subject heading that reflected the contents of each message, but I imagine you would have contacted Dear Abby rather than me if you wanted the social solution to your problem. To avoid what could be an awkward email exchange, try this:
When you receive a joke that you like, click Mail’s Forward button. In the message window that appears, enter your name in the To field and type in a subject heading that more accurately describes the yuck-fest within. Send the message to yourself.
To more easily file the message when your receive it, add a made-up word to the subject that will help you filter the message with a rule. For example, Laff , as in a message subject that reads: Laff: Chicken Crosses Road. Click the Plus button at the bottom of the Mail’s mailboxes pane and name the new mailbox “Laffs.” Now choose Preferences from the Mail menu, click the Rules tab, click Add Rule, and create a rule that reads: If Subject Contains Laff, Move Message to Mailbox Laffs.
If you’d rather not email yourself you can go right ahead and click Forward, enter any email address you like, change the subject, and then click Save as Draft. The message will be moved to Mail’s Drafts folder. Once there you can move it to another folder of your choosing.