Out of office reply

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 15 Jul 2005, 22:05

I just set up an 'out of office' reply on Outlook Express to deal with my email while I'm away. If anyone is interested, it's pretty easy:

Instructions here

Unfortunately, the first email I received was an automated reply to an email I had sent earlier. This message triggered my automated reply, which then triggered the sender's automated reply, which of course triggered....etc etc.

Is there a simple solution to this conundrum?

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 15 Jul 2005, 23:05

A very simple one, pretty much the same as to car alarms.

Turn it off.

Outlook Express also isn't the best email client - certainly in terms of security - and there is a great free alternative made by the same nice people who made the Firefox browser.

It's called Thunderbird :

http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

Unless your autoresponder has a specific setting to not send repeated replies to the same address within a specified time frame, there is no way of avoiding this problem because the software is doing what you told it to do - monkey see, monkey do.

It's much worse on mailing lists, as all it takes is one person with an autoresponder and their client sends replies to the entire list as soon as they get one message, which they get a copy of and duly autorespond to the list with their polite "out of office" message, which is posted to the list etc etc and an entire body of users are spammed until either inboxes get filled up to capacity, everyone has unsubscribed or the offender has been removed or shot.

You can get autoresponder software but in order to find it you will find yourself in the grim world of mass email marketing "entrepreneurs".

I read somewhere that autoresponse should be handled by ISPs so that users who have gone on vacation shouldn't have to leave their computers on 24/7, which you would have to do with your current setup.

wangi?

Post by **wangi** » 15 Jul 2005, 23:14

Dadaist wrote:wangi?

I thought on the whole most clients handled it "OK" these days, but I never bother setting it simply due to the sheer amount of mailing lists i'm subscribed too - wouldn't want to make a big cock-up!

Certainly (the full version of) Outlook only sends the one email, thus wouldn't have this problem.

Sandra · Post by **Sandra** » 15 Jul 2005, 23:16

Always do it at work when out of office. Its easy peasy

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 16 Jul 2005, 00:09

wangi wrote:
Dadaist wrote:wangi?
I thought on the whole most clients handled it "OK" these days, but I never bother setting it simply due to the sheer amount of mailing lists i'm subscribed too - wouldn't want to make a big cock-up!

Certainly (the full version of) Outlook only sends the one email, thus wouldn't have this problem.

Fair enough. I've never used it, mainly because :

(a) i spam everyone before i go on holiday
(b) they can wait
(c) i spam them with pictures when i get back

but my mate uses his auto reply so often that i have struck up quite a friendship with it : it never argues with me either, it simply acknowledges my messages in a timeous manner.

Dakota · Post by **Dakota** » 18 Jul 2005, 18:00

Dadaist wrote:
Outlook Express also isn't the best email client - certainly in terms of security - and there is a great free alternative made by the same nice people who made the Firefox browser.

It's called Thunderbird :

So I'm not the only one who uses it..? Great spam filters. Easy migration. It's the web's best kept secret.

Ed · Post by Ed » 19 Jul 2005, 09:10

Unfortunately you cant synchronise your mobile with Thunderbird (and it doesnt have a calendar), otherwise I would use it! Or am I wrong?

I used to use it at work for about 6 months, I loved it.

Maria · Post by **Maria** » 19 Jul 2005, 11:45

Ed wrote:Unfortunately you cant synchronise your mobile with Thunderbird (and it doesnt have a calendar), otherwise I would use it!

Eh! Y'what? Pretty soon it'll be just you and me left isolated, Poppy, in this Brave New World

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 19 Jul 2005, 12:55

Marya wrote:
Ed wrote:Unfortunately you cant synchronise your mobile with Thunderbird (and it doesnt have a calendar), otherwise I would use it!

Eh! Y'what? Pretty soon it'll be just you and me left isolated, Poppy, in this Brave New World

You are so right, Marya. I knew I'd been left behind in the BNW when this gibberish appeared at work in some FAQs

"Q. Is the media wall being considered?
A. All Agency PCs are in scope. "

Dakota · Post by **Dakota** » 19 Jul 2005, 16:05

Don't know about the PDA issue, as I still use a filofax (how 80s!). However, Mozilla has launched a calendar.

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird.html