Re: Auto-reply software

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From: John Sinteur
Subject: Re: Auto-reply software
Date: 12:01 on 10 Jun 2004
On 10-jun-04, at 12:52, Ann Barcomb wrote:

> Vacation programs should also keep some kind of log of people who have
> been notified about this vacation.  A reply once every 24-hours or so
> per person is quite enough; I don't need a reply for every single 
> email.

I've written a vacation program myself once, and I considered once 
quite enough. I'd hate to get the same message every day..

>
> I also got mail from a spam-blocking program that expects me to verify
> the letter before the address can be approved.  Do your own whitelist
> work--the letter was sent by an automated script in response to the
> user making a request in a webform.

Thank heavens for mail servers that have loop detection. I've seen 
servers go "you authenticate" "no, YOU authenticate" to each other 
until they got the kill -9...

> Then there was one of those mails informing me that I have sent
> a virus.  This is some of the worst spam, because the anti-virus
> companies are just trying to tell you how great their software is.
> They know as well as I do that the email address is spoofed.

I always make it a point to send a polite phrased message to the mail 
admins, telling them in friendly terms what I'm going to repleat in 
plain words here: they look like incompetent dorks and total fuckwits 
for having selected said piece of shit. And I urge them to complain 
loudly to their supplier for having made them a) look like a douchebag, 
b) adding to the problem of spam, and c) for advertising a bogus 
product without compensation. Sometimes it's really funny when a 
company is an IT service provider, in that case I can add some choice 
statements about selecting them as a supplier... I figure if the 
anti-virus companies may, at some point in time, get a clue this way.

The best way to get rid of crap is cause pain to whoever selected it.

-John

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