[Mailman-Users] Detecting Autoresponders

[Grant Taylor]

On 6/28/2009 8:15 PM, Mark Sapiro wrote:
> I would say the autoresponder is broken if it is responding 
> repeatedly to the same address on behalf of the same recipient. I 
> would also say it's broken it it responds to the list for an 
> individual message (not a digest) unless the list is anonymous and 
> puts the list address in the From: of delevered posts. Finally, this 
> is probably more controversial, but I think it's broken if it can't 
> identify its own autoresponses from Message-ID: or something else and 
> not respond to one of its own messages.

I *REALLY* /wish/ that was the case.  I've got an end user that has set 
up an Out of Office (a.k.a. OoO) auto-reply in Outlook that is replying 
to every frigging message that comes in.

OoO auto responders usually reply to the From: (header) address of 
messages as they have on concept of the SMTP envelope sender.  So if the 
mailing list either sets the From: or Reply-To: header, that's where the 
OoO replies will go.

I have seen more than a few OoO auto-responders that generate a 
completely new message to the From: / Reply-To: address with out any 
form of identification as to who it is replying to.

In my opinion, OoO auto responders are probably some of the worst things 
in email.  I've been in an environment where two OoO auto responders 
were battling with each other and generated almost 100,000 messages over 
a weekend.



Grant. . . .