WASHINGTON (AP) -- In some cases, e-mail users who hit "reply all" might just face embarrassment. At the State Department, they might face punishment.

That's according to a directive sent to all State Department employees in Washington and overseas. It's in response to an e-mail overload that nearly knocked out one of the agency's main communications systems.

Officials say the overload happened when diplomats hit "reply all" to a message mistakenly copied to several thousand global recipients. Some also used less-than-diplomatic language in their notes.

Some also compounded the problem by trying to recall their initial replies, generating yet another round of messages.

So, from now on, the State Department says use of the "reply to all" button may result in unspecified "disciplinary actions."

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)