LAST MODIFIED:
One of the email lists I belong to deals in web design and normally generates about 30 emails a day. We help one another solve technical problems in web design, graphics, javascript and so on. I personally believe in the KISS principle and keep away from Flash, MP3 and that sort.
This particular day though, 27th September, 2000 one of the list left an auto responder on so every post was automatically replied to - with subsequent humourous results.
Initial auto reply which started it all off:
thanks for replying I will call you soon
VivekNow this went on about 20+ times during the morning finally elliciting these responses:
~~~~~~~~
can you please tell me how to set up a filter or under what category. I love
bad andy but bad-vivek is clogging my passion for life~~~~~~~~
Hi Vivek
Can you please cut this message :)~~~~~~~~
Please stop this from being sent. I have received this mail many many times
this morning.~~~~~~~~
Okay..after the third time getting this, I hafta ask. Who are you, why do
you wanna call me and I hope you get real cheap rates on LD. :)I would be more than happy to give you my phone number and put you on hold
for half an hour :)~~~~~~~~
>
> thanks for replying I will call you soon
> VivekYou could be a little more creative in your auto-responder and come up with
several to rotate among:1) Thanks for replying I will call you soon.
2) The check is in the mail because I posted it yesterday.
3) I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
4) I just subscribed to this list and I didn't RTFM.
5) I'm a newbie - can't you tell?
6) So what's the big deal - it's a free country!
7) Kiss my grits.
8) Come here and make me!
9) The bike racks; after school!
10) I have this amazing way to make $50,000 overnight ...~~~~~~~~
Ian - now remember we're all intelligent people and so it goes on:~~~~~~~~
man how many times are you going to thank and say all this.~~~~~~~~
TURN OFF YOUR AUTO-RESPONDER TO THIS LIST~~~~~~~~
10? I'm up around 50, I think.~~~~~~~~
I sent an email to a forums admin (about 90 mins ago) to have his account
killed. So far, nada.~~~~~~~~
Vivek...Unsubscribe from the list before you turn on your autoresponder
ListGod...
Can we temporarily unsubscribe Vivek? I get enough email as it is :-(
~~~~~~~~
Vivek
Can you call me soon, I would love to hear from you, we just do not keep in
touch like we should.. :o)~~~~~~~~~
To be fair folks, I've often run into the same problem Vivek is having. I'm
required to set my out of office notice on exchange when I'm out but I've
yet to figure out how to keep it from sending msgs over and over. Unsubbing
for a day to the many NG's I'm a part of would be a real pain. So I'm open
to any suggestions someone may have. Guess thats why I'm sympathetic to
Vivek. I've returned to the same angry msgs.~~~~~~~~
Actually the funny thing is can you imagine the look on Vivek's face
when returning to the office to find all this out.haha
lets just say bin there done that.
~~~~~~~~
In another mailing list where I am a member, anyone who posts to the list
via a auto-responder ends up having list members enter their virtual office
and take what we want. :)So I get first dibs on Vivek's monitor (I need another one).
~~~~~~~~
How do you know my number? Who are you? What do you WANT!?!~~~~~~~~
This does not rely on the users address book. What is happening is a message
goes out to all the members of the list. When it hits Vivek's email system
it replies back with an auto responder message which is sent to the whole
list including Vivek causing an endless loop. We are going to keep seeing
Vivek's message all day unless the list administrator does something......The ironic thing is I am trying to be helpful and offer up a solution to the
problem but I am also contributing because I am sending a message to the
list which will cause more Vivek messages to be sent. Sorry....~~~~~~~~
Now that's funny!!! :)
--- James wrote:
> How do you know my number? Who are you? What do you
> WANT!?!~~~~~~~~
*standing up on the soap box*Ahem! Excuse me! May I have your attention please?!?
Ok, the conspiracy theorists.... gather up over here. The sympathetic... meet over here in this other corner.
The angry... run around the block and vent it out, come back here, we'll be a bit more organized when you get back. The humored... stick around, we need some more of your insight. We'll keep one chair vacant for when Vivek gets back. Maybe we can share how we feel in a group session... *chuckle* I'm like every one of you... I could use a couple hundred less emails to sort through at the end of the day, but what's a couple more.(possible solution)
Every e-mail client I have seen has a message filter system. In Netscape 4.x go to "Edit" > "Message Filters"I've had great joy in learning how to re-direct all incoming emails from vivek@xxxxxxx.com to a folder named vivek. I'll read later.... how vivek will call me soon (though a bazillion times). I honestly look forward to what he or she actually has to say to me.
PS - Vivek - I forgive you, but I could probably use a pretty good joke I haven't yet heard by the time you read this email. :-)
~~~~~~~~
One more humorous note on this issue. We as Web Developer's must
collectively be a distractable bunch. Spending the entire day on Vivek's
autoresponder issue. Petitioning the administrator of the group,
establishing email filters (my choice), just complaining about it, and
humorous methods to cope with it(ooops must have done this, too!). But the
one thing I haven't seen all day (with the exception of the Java problem)
was queries and solutions to web problems. Can we get back on track, or are
we just a lost cause??? LOL~~~~~~~~
thanks for replying I will call you soon
Vivek~~~~~~~~
vivek, I am tired of your spamming mails.~~~~~~~~
> thanks for replying I will call you soon
> VivekDon't worry people... when he/she calls each of us we can give him/her a piece of our minds. I, for one, am waiting by the phone.
~~~~~~~~
thanks for replying I will call you soon
Vivek
~~~~~~~~
thanks for replying I will call you soon
Vivek
~~~~~~~~
thanks for replying I will call you soon
Vivek
~~~~~~~~
thanks for replying I will call you soon
Vivek****** ENDS THANKFULLY ******
the author Ian C. Purdie, VK2TIP of www.electronics-tutorials.com asserts the moral right to
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Copyright © 2000, all rights reserved. URL - https://www.electronics-tutorials.com/humour/auto-responder.htm
Updated 30th September, 2000