Ok, so I don't use this blog very often for non-technical matters, but this is related, and to be frank, I'm too pissed to not response. What has gotten me so worked up? Out of office replies. You know - those "handy" little auto responses some people set up when they leave town for a day or two. Nothing is more annoying to posting to a listserv and getting 5-10 responses from people who have left work to go visit their Aunt Matilta or something else that is entirely unimportant.
Come up people - what year is this - 1999? It's very simple. If you don't know how to unsubscribe from a listserv, or how to custmize your mail server, then just dont do it!
Let's be honest. Do you really think your response is so important that you have to setup a vacation minder when you leave? I bet you already told everyone you really care about already anyway, so what's the point?
Maybe I should design an auto response of my own... something nice and witty just to let people know how much I care that they are out of the office...
Archived Comments
My favorite are email signatures.
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Thanks,
My Name
Could you write something so unpersonal? How can you can a conclusion to an email. The worst is when these people no longer remember they are there, and say the same damn thing!
Thanks!
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Thanks,
My Name
Insensitive bastards!
I really think it should be the responsibility of the listserve to filter these out. I belong to 14 lists and would hate having to subscribe/unsubscribe if I turned on out-of-office.
But don''t hate me, I don''t use out-of-office messages anyways--if the person really knows me then they''ll know I''m out of town. Otherwise, it can wait.