Bill Myers

If you're a member of a discussion listserv where your message is sent to everyone else on the list, beware of the Attack of the Self Cloning Autoresponders.

Say you go on vacation, and you set your email program to automatically respond to all incoming messages with the following:

"Hi, I'm on vacation until July 10. Please contact me then, as I can't receive your message now. Thanks!"

Here's what can happen.

A regular listserv message goes out to all on the discussion list.

As a member of the list, you get the message - except your email program autoreplies with your 'I'm on vacation' message -- to everyone on the list.

It gets worse.

If a few other people on the list also have set their email to autorespond, you create an unending stream of looping autoresponse messages going back and forth thousands of times a minute - quickly filling up your mail box until it exceeds your limit.

Can you see the problem here?

So either don't use the vacation autoresponders or temporarily unsubscribe to any email discussion listserv you belong to before you do.

Doing so helps the internet thwart yet another summertime Attack of the Self Cloning Autoresponders.