Path: utzoo!utstat!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!well!jef
From: jef@well.sf.ca.us (Jef Poskanzer)
Newsgroups: news.software.b
Subject: Re: mailing lists and vacation programs
Message-ID: <16393@well.sf.ca.us>
Date: 25 Feb 90 17:15:22 GMT
References: <101416@looking.on.ca>
Reply-To: Jef Poskanzer <jef@well.sf.ca.us>
Organization: Paratheo-Anametamystikhood Of Eris Esoteric, Ada Lovelace Cabal
Lines: 16

There are quite a few versions of "vacation" and vacation-like programs.
And yes, a lot of them do reply to messages from mailing lists even though
they shouldn't.  Hell, lots of them aren't even smart enough to keep a
list of people already notified, or to add a header line marking the
message as coming from a vacation program, let alone not reply to a
message so marked.

When I send out a digest and get a vacation message back, I send mail
to the vacationer and the site's postmaster letting them know that the
version of vacation they are using is not acceptable.  And if I get a
second vacation message from that site, I remove it from my mailing list.
---
Jef

  Jef Poskanzer  jef@well.sf.ca.us  {ucbvax, apple, hplabs}!well!jef
                         Alcohol 0% by volume.