Subject: Re: PUPT: Re: Vacation flood ended
Date: Mon, 8 Jul 2002 11:28:10 -0400 (EDT)


> That message (or rather, 100s of messages) crashed our mailserver! Eeek. A
> good example of how vacation messages can be dangerous things in the wrong
> hands. We're actually closing down in a few weeks for summer vacation, is it
> safe to assume that it's best to unsubscribe to Puptcrit before turning on
> an autoresponser?

A correctly installed autoresponder should not respond to messages from mailing
lists, and -- what is more important -- should not respond to messages from
the same address multiple times.  Typically, an autoresponder should only
respond to a given address once a week, or once every two weeks.  So when
the autoresponder is correctly installed, there should not the kind of 
problem that we saw in Judy's case.  However, I would say that it is always 
safer to unsub from lists before you go on any prolonged vacation, precisely 
because other people's autoresponders may not be correctly installed and you 
may find your mail quota trashed upon returning.


-m



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