So last night it appeared that Michael Arthur, provost and president of University College London, had committed something of a gaffe.
An email was sent from @provost@ucl.ac.uk addressed to ALL STUDENTS – that's nearly 29,000 people – and all it said was "bello!"
And did the 29,000 recipients act responsibly and refrain from hitting "reply all" with their funny responses? You may be shocked: They did not.
Shoutout to whoever's responsible for #bellogate! Nothing like waking up to 3000 emails
?mili@Emili_StevensonFollow
Shoutout to whoever's responsible for #bellogate! Nothing like waking up to 3000 emails
9:42 AM - 09 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
Overnight, #Bellogate was the UK's No. 1 trend on Twitter.
"Trending UK:01:31 AM BST" 1. #bellogate 2. #GBBOfinal 3. #AskJamesArthurAnything 4. #TOWII 5. #ThePointlessBookUS 6. Nancy
TrendieUK - Trends@TrendieUKFollow
"Trending UK:01:31 AM BST"
1. #bellogate
2. #GBBOfinal
3. #AskJamesArthurAnything
4. #TOWII
5. #ThePointlessBookUS
6. Nancy
1:33 AM - 09 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
Daniel was the first to make this gag.
I'm crying #bellogate
Harriet@harrietparrotFollow
I'm crying #bellogate
11:11 PM - 08 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
It didn't take long for someone to sign up to a porn talent site using the all-students email address.
Someone @uclnews is going to have a fun morning cleaning up this mess #bellogate #bello
Bo Franklin@punderachieverFollow
Someone @uclnews is going to have a fun morning cleaning up this mess #bellogate #bello
11:38 PM - 08 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
By 1am this morning, "bellogate" had its own OkCupid account.
It's okay - we are all on Okay Cupid now so no more bellonliness. #bellogate
The Cheese Grater@UCLCheeseGraterFollow
It's okay - we are all on Okay Cupid now so no more bellonliness. #bellogate
8:22 PM - 08 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
And membership of Sarah Palin's website.
@UCLBello on the other hand...
Claire McNear@clrmcnrFollow
@UCLBello on the other hand...
1:11 AM - 09 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
And an account on Pornhub.
Best of #bellogate continued...
Nina@rationalninaFollow
Best of #bellogate continued...
1:07 AM - 09 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
And perhaps most controversially, had signed up to the official Coldplay mailing list.
Gay porn and UKIP are one thing but THIS is too far #bellogate
Alice Buller@AliceBuller1Follow
Gay porn and UKIP are one thing but THIS is too far #bellogate
12:20 AM - 09 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
Maybe because the band's most famous song sounds a bit like "bello".
#bellogate this is what the grads are saying
yara rodriguesfowler@yazzarfFollow
#bellogate this is what the grads are saying
12:06 AM - 09 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
The end result: This is what the students' inboxes looked like this morning.
The university helpdesk warned people not to abuse the all-hands email address. But even that warning got mocked:
The person who sent the original email popped up again this morning.
My favourite so far #bello #bellogate
Dominic Potter@dominicpotter1Follow
My favourite so far #bello #bellogate
8:02 AM - 09 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
One wag suggested the university IT staff look here for someone to help.
Hey @uclisd, need to find someone to come and fix #bellogate?
Hey @uclisd, need to find someone to come and fix #bellogate?
12:41 AM - 09 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
You could only sympathise with the people asking for the emails to stop.
A psychoanalysis mailing list had this effect a few years back - good test of thinking skills #BELLOGATE
Andy Fugard@inductivestepFollow
A psychoanalysis mailing list had this effect a few years back - good test of thinking skills #BELLOGATE
12:21 AM - 09 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
This is the most ridiculous thing #bellogate
Dom Oliver@domcantweetFollow
This is the most ridiculous thing #bellogate
8:51 AM - 09 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
Someone used it as opportunity to look for love.
This is fantastic. Wife searching through spam email chain. #UCL #bellogate
Emma Graham@themmagrahamFollow
This is fantastic. Wife searching through spam email chain. #UCL #bellogate
11:52 PM - 08 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
And buried amongst the madness was this confession.
okcupid matches, pornhub, and this. #bellogate
Lucy Rose@yculesorFollow
okcupid matches, pornhub, and this. #bellogate
9:19 AM - 09 Oct 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
This is exactly what happened at New York University in 2012 when people realised they could email 40,000 students at once, thanks to one student's error.
Update — 12.05pm: The university has posted this series of updates, in which it said the email list has been closed and that students have received an apology.
