“Out of Office” Auto-spam

The problem with “Out of Office” autoresponder messages is they are not selective. They go out to everyone who e-mails you — including every site/service you have made the choice to subscribe to — whether your status affects them or not.

One could even say that these messages can be considered spam. I didn’t ask to know about subscriber’s day to day “in the office” status. In my case, I don’t even know these folks. They have subscribed to my free weekly e-mail etiquette tips service and for that, I am now relegated to knowing their office status for perpetuity.

I’ve been doing online longer than most — over 15 years now. And not once have I ever used an autoresponder to notify every single person who may send me an e-mail while I am on hiatus (out of the office, on vacation, at a seminar, in a meeting).

Follow these suggestions in lieu of engaging an auto-spam message:

• If you must use an autoresponder message, then use a separate and secondary e-mail address to sign up for mailings and services so that those who provide what you asked for do not have to deal with your auto-spam.
• If you must use an autoresponder message, then have the courtesy to unsubscribe from the services you asked to e-mail you so they are not relegated to receiving notices they didn’t ask for. Even if a human being isn’t seeing/receiving your message, their servers still have to use resources to manage them.
• If you must use an autoresponder message, put a sticky-note on your desk phone so that the minute you are back you are reminded to disengage that message. The last thing you want to do is have messages that contain outdated information still going out after your return. Unorganized and unprofessional.

One way to prevent all this is to simply send out an e-mail mailing to all those you honestly believe need to know your status with the details of your return and the contact info of who they can contact during your absence.

Making an effort to not auto-spam contacts who don’t need to know, don’t care to know and didn’t ask to be notified of your status is simply the responsible thing to do.

Some More Info for You:

1. Business Email Away Message Etiquette
2. E-mail Away Message Basics
3. CAN-SPAM and Your Business Email
4. Office Signature Files