Autoresponder
Autoreply is borrowed from the English name for an e -mail that (auto) response (English: reply) automatically to an event (usually an incoming e -mail) will be sent. The mechanism which produces such an automatic reply is referred to as auto responder and is a special form of an e -mail robots.
Auto Reply's are used in different areas, for example for the confirmation of order procedures, changes to mailing lists as well as for non-delivery or Out of Office messages ( Out of office reply, oooR ).
When ordering or booking confirmations are usually not auto reply you but to ( automatically generated ) confirmations that are sent as from a webshop software. Composite Also from text blocks Mails are no auto reply you because the sender manually selects the blocks before he submits the mail.
Examples
From: @ example.com Martin.Schlumpf
Subject: Martin Schlumpf is outside the home.
To: Lucius customer
From: [email protected] Subject: My email address has changed Reply-To: [email protected] Attention! My email address has changed. It now reads: [email protected] Please send immediately their e -mail to the new address, as e- mails to the old address no longer be ignored and the address soon is dissolved. Criticism and alternatives
Automatically generated responses are indeed widespread in the course of automated processes such as Confirmed Opt -in required on mailing lists and in commercial transactions. However, the ill-considered use of auto Replys used without filter functions can lead to problems. RFC 3834 provides guidelines before, after which car Reply's to be sent and prohibits the indiscriminate sending the same.
Problems with mailing lists
On mailing lists auto reply you can generate unwanted responses to any emails. For this reason, the corresponding sender are frequently removed from the mailing list if they do not turn off the automatic responses.
Sends a spammer Subscribe to the address of a mailing list, an e-mail with forged sender, so the automatic mailing list manager asks under this sender for confirmation for the application. An automatic response then leads to unwanted logging on to the mailing list, because often only the fact of the answer, but not the text can be evaluated.
Spam and virus problems
General receipts or absence of messages usually include a problem because the sender of an email is optional to forge. Automatically replies to incoming spam to the spammer inadvertently confirm the validity of the address or - if a forged sender address - harass as collateral spam innocent third parties. If this is done intentionally to harm the reputation of a company that sends unfiltered car answers, so it is called a Joe Job.
Auto Reply's are rarely used to prevent spamming. The sender of an e- mail then receive an automatic response ( the so-called "Challenge " ), which prompts him to prove in any way that he is a human ( and not a spambot ), usually by simple answers to the automatic reply. Only then forwards the mail system of the addressee's mail to this further. This procedure prevented by the additional steps of the message flow.
Order of the sender or the spamfilter Challenge mistakenly, or the sender receives the challenge is not timely (eg because of a trip ) so lost the original mail. Software that uses this method is nowadays rarely offered.
Service quality
Acknowledgments are in service requests being distributed to companies. It is disputed whether the sender the receipt of their mail should be notified, although there is still no answer. Such a car can reply to the sender pre- service information such as a transaction number or the anticipated processing time can come, but upset by the standardized content also.
Automatically generated notifications include in some companies, a sender address, are ignored on incoming mail and answered with a standard text.
Absence Notifications
Alternatively to the absence and vacations Notifications important mails can be forwarded and handled by a representative. In addition, so-called Role accounts are possible through a mail is sent to the responsible agents if necessary.
Email loops
Unnecessary traffic to an extreme extent can be caused by E -mail Loops ( German e- mail loops ) when two mail servers to each other constantly send auto reply you because the software does not recognize. Could to prevent this auto reply you with an empty sender ( envelope-from <>) to be shipped, however, this is provided by RFC2505 actually for error messages.
Filter insert
Better automated response functions convert a ( possibly very complex ) filter to prevent spam, mail loops and multiple dispatch to the same person. The e -mail program exim supports such as Auto Reply's that send each sender only an automated message per week and possibly only if the mail was sent personally to the recipient only and not at the same time by CC to a role account.
General acknowledgments
E -mail is not a guaranteed service. General acknowledgments are therefore not provided in the e- mail protocols.
Sender can request an acknowledgment of receipt in accordance with RFC 1894 Delivery Status Notification ( DSN) and RFC 2298 Message Disposition Notification ( MDN). Answers will be sent only if the mail server of the receiver support (with DSN ) or e -mail program, the recipient (in case of MDN) this. From the receipt of an MDN can only be read, that the recipient has the underlying message is opened, not whether he has actually read this or even "understood".