Autoreply

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Autoreply is a term borrowed from English for an e-mail that is sent automatically (auto) as a reply to an event (usually an incoming e-mail). The mechanism that generates such an autoreply is known as an autoresponder and is a special form of an e-mail robot .

Autoreplys are used in different areas, for example to confirm order processes , changes to mailing lists and for undeliverable or absence messages ( Out of Office Reply , OOOR).

Order or booking confirmations are usually not auto replies , but (automatically generated) confirmations that are sent, for example, by web shop software. Mails composed of text modules are not auto-replies either, as the sender manually selects the modules before sending the mail.

Examples

From: Martin.Schlumpf@example.com
Subject: Martin Schlumpf ist außer Haus.
To: Lucius Kunde <lkund@abc.example>

Ich werde ab dem 14. Mai 2007 nicht im Büro sein. Ich kehre am
21. Mai 2007 zurück.

In wichtigen Fällen wenden Sie sich bitte an meine Kollegin, Frau Kleinschlumpf
(Tel. +49 40 123456-78).

From: HannoMustermann0815@freimailanbieter.example.com
Subject: Meine E-Mail Adresse hat sich geändert
Reply-To: mustermann@meinefirma.example.org

Achtung!
Meine E-Mail-Adresse hat sich geändert. Sie lautet jetzt:
''mustermann@meinefirma.example.org''
Bitte senden Sie ab sofort Ihre E-Mail an die neue Adresse, da E-Mails
an die alte Adresse nicht mehr beachtet werden und die Adresse in Kürze
aufgelöst wird.

Criticism and alternatives

Automatically generated responses are required in the course of automated processes such as confirmed opt-in on mailing lists and are widespread in business transactions. However, the ill-considered use of autoreplys without filter functions can lead to problems. RFC 3834 specifies guidelines according to which autoreplys should be sent and prohibits the undifferentiated sending of the same.

Problems with mailing lists

Autoreplys on mailing lists can generate unwanted replies to any email. For this reason, the associated senders are often removed from the distribution list if they do not disable automatic replies.

If a spammer sends a mail with a fake sender to the subscribe address of a mailing list, the automatic mailing list management asks this sender for a confirmation of the registration. An automatic reply then leads to unwanted registration on the mailing list, since often only the fact of the reply but not the text is evaluated.

Spam issues and viruses

General acknowledgments of receipt or absence messages are problematic, for example, because the sender of an email can be forged at will. Automatic responses to incoming spam can unintentionally confirm the validity of the address to the spammer or - if the sender address is falsified - annoy uninvolved third parties as collateral spam. If this is done deliberately to damage the reputation of a company that sends unfiltered auto-replies, then it is a so-called joe job.

Autoreplys are also rarely used to avoid spam . The sender of an email then receives an automatic response (the so-called "challenge"), which asks them to prove in some way that they are human (and not a spambot ), usually by simply responding to the automatic response . Only then does the recipient's mail system forward the mail to them. This procedure impairs the flow of messages with the additional steps.

If the sender or their spam filter erroneously rejects the challenge, or if the sender does not receive the challenge in time (e.g. because of a trip), the original mail is lost. Software that uses this process is rarely offered these days.

Service quality

Acknowledgments of receipt are common for service requests to companies. It is disputed whether senders should be notified of the receipt of their mail, although there is still no answer. Such an auto-reply can provide the sender with service information in advance, such as a transaction number or the expected processing time, but it can also be annoying due to the standardized content.

In some companies, automatically generated notifications contain a sender address to which incoming emails are ignored and answered with a standard text.

Out of office notifications

As an alternative to absence and vacation notifications, important emails can be forwarded and processed by a substitute. In addition, so-called role accounts are also possible, through which an email is forwarded to the responsible person if necessary.

Email loops

Unnecessary data traffic on an extreme level can result from e-mail loops (German e-mail loops ) when two mail servers constantly send each other auto-replies because the software does not recognize this. To prevent this, the autoreplys could be sent with an empty sender (Envelope-From <>), but according to RFC 2505 this is actually intended for error messages.

Filter insert

Better automatic response functions use filters (which can be very complex) to avoid spam, mail loops and multiple mailings to the same person. The e-mail program exim supports autoreplys, for example, which send each sender only one automatic message per week and possibly only if the e-mail was only sent to the recipient personally and not at the same time via CC to a role account.

General acknowledgments of receipt

Email is not a guaranteed service. General confirmations of receipt are therefore not provided for in the e-mail protocols.

If required, senders can request a confirmation of receipt in accordance with RFC 1894 (Delivery Status Notification, DSN) and RFC 2298 (Message Disposition Notification, MDN). However, replies are only sent if the recipient's mail server (for DSN) or the recipient's e-mail program (for MDN) support this. From the receipt of an MDN it can only be read that the recipient has opened the underlying message, but not whether he has actually read it or even "understood" it.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ zdnet.de