autoresponder-like question
David P. Schwartz
plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
Mon, 04 Feb 2002 04:47:16 -0700
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Victor Odhner <vodhner@cox.net> wrote:
> Summary:
> The best way to handle attachments in e-mail to
> a list of recipients is to Just Say No.
>
not an option!
> The next best way is to build and save profiles
> of all subscribed users, based on what kind of
> mail client or Internet service they are using.
>
too cumbersome
> Rambling Discussion:
>
> Attachments in general are a bad idea for a list
> of recipients, where you don't know what kinds
> of e-mail clients they use nor what kinds of
> operating system or other tools they have
> available.
>
A little background: There's this company that
can't/won't expend the funds needed to do this
"right", and they make do with the efforts of
"volunteers", of which I am one. IF it were done
right, there would be no reports to send out
because everything would be accessible on-line.
Three years ago they had no reports because they
didn't bother to collect data very often. They
began to see the value in collecting some data
regularly, and now there is a team of folks around
the country that collects the data, summarizes it,
and distributes reports every week.
The recipient list isn't terribly big (~50), but
because everybody is basically a volunteer, the
organization cannot impose that anybody use
specific tools, nor are they willing to pay for
everybody to get a copy of something.
Somebody is, however, (and unfortunately IMHO)
working on putting together a database using MS
Access that can be used at the local level for
data reporting. Data collection (and roll-ups) is
pretty much an after-thought in this design, and
the primary design effort has gone into making
sure that virtually "anybody" can maintain and
update the database's design. (Ignore the fact
that the design is under control of the Corporate
MIS Dept...) This means no VBScript. Just a
really plain, vanilla database app and report.
In the mean time, most of the rest of us rely on
Excel to do our thing. So I get these
spreadsheets in by email every weekend, copy data
from them into my file, make sure everything is
clean, then send mine out to the world, as it
were. Some recipients can NOT receive binary
attachments, so they get FAXes.
The biggest reason this company is moving so
slowly is because they are under the common
misconception that the internet is somehow more
vulnerable than less sophisticated technology
like, gawd, the FAX machine. So while they feel
fine FAXing stuff like their corporate P&L sheets
between offices on different continents (and don't
seem to worry about the occasional mis-dialed
number), they prohibit sending the same through
email or posting it on a secure web site. They
even go so far as to put locks in the floppy
drives of all their office computers to prevent
people from getting access to private records.
Get the picture?
I mention all of this not to encourage ridicule,
but to underscore the fact that there are lots of
companies that are just like this in their
approach to technology and security. The good
news is ... none of their computers got hit with
any of the major viruses and worms that nailed
most folks last year. (Many of the volunteers
weren't as lucky, tho :-p )
Now, why they seem to think that it's somehow
"safer" to keep some of their company secrets
entrusted to a bunch of volunteers rather than
keep them securely locked inside a server
somewhere is another question entirely. I guess
the fact that they trust FAX technology more than
email and web servers pretty much says it all.
(And the fact that they took two years to decide
to get off the dime ... and are now slowly rolling
out IIS and Outlook across the company is even
sillier!!!)
Anyway, while procmail might just do the trick, I
don't think the mail hosting service is going to
be very willing to plug it into their Apache
configuration, if you get my drift. Most don't
even seem to know what procmail is! Hey, they
might be running something that doesn't know what
procmail is.
The few auto-responders I've seen appear to be
designed to support the needs of spammers -- send
a reply to a box and get a canned response back
that isn't changed for weeks or months. IOW, a
very static design.
Doesn't somebody make a mail server with a hook in
it that says, "when mail that matches this pattern
arrives, hand it off to this script"? I realize
that's what procmail enables, but I'm talking
about a server/service, not some microsurgical
techniques that work on a specific class of MTAs.
-David
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<html>
Victor Odhner <vodhner@cox.net> wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>
<pre>Summary:
The best way to handle attachments in e-mail to
a list of recipients is to Just Say No.</pre>
</blockquote>
not an option!
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>
<pre>
The next best way is to build and save profiles
of all subscribed users, based on what kind of
mail client or Internet service they are using.</pre>
</blockquote>
too cumbersome
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>
<pre>
Rambling Discussion:
Attachments in general are a bad idea for a list
of recipients, where you don't know what kinds
of e-mail clients they use nor what kinds of
operating system or other tools they have
available.</pre>
</blockquote>
<p><br>A little background: There's this company that can't/won't expend
the funds needed to do this "right", and they make do with the efforts
of "volunteers", of which I am one. IF it were done right, there
would be no reports to send out because everything would be accessible
on-line. Three years ago they had no reports because they didn't
bother to collect data very often. They began to see the value in
collecting some data regularly, and now there is a team of folks around
the country that collects the data, summarizes it, and distributes reports
every week.
<p>The recipient list isn't terribly big (~50), but because everybody is
basically a volunteer, the organization cannot impose that anybody use
specific tools, nor are they willing to pay for everybody to get a copy
of something.
<p>Somebody is, however, (and unfortunately IMHO) working on putting together
a database using MS Access that can be used at the local level for data
reporting. Data collection (and roll-ups) is pretty much an after-thought
in this design, and the primary design effort has gone into making sure
that virtually "anybody" can maintain and update the database's design.
(Ignore the fact that the design is under control of the Corporate MIS
Dept...) This means no VBScript. Just a really plain, vanilla
database app and report.
<p>In the mean time, most of the rest of us rely on Excel to do our thing.
So I get these spreadsheets in by email every weekend, copy data from them
into my file, make sure everything is clean, then send mine out to the
world, as it were. Some recipients can NOT receive binary attachments,
so they get FAXes.
<p>The biggest reason this company is moving so slowly is because they
are under the common misconception that the internet is somehow more vulnerable
than less sophisticated technology like, gawd, the FAX machine. So
while they feel fine FAXing stuff like their corporate P&L sheets between
offices on different continents (and don't seem to worry about the occasional
mis-dialed number), they prohibit sending the same through email or posting
it on a secure web site. They even go so far as to put locks in the
floppy drives of all their office computers to prevent people from getting
access to private records. Get the picture?
<p>I mention all of this not to encourage ridicule, but to underscore the
fact that there are lots of companies that are just like this in their
approach to technology and security. The good news is ... none of
their computers got hit with any of the major viruses and worms that nailed
most folks last year. (Many of the volunteers weren't as lucky, tho
:-p )
<p>Now, why they seem to think that it's somehow "safer" to keep some of
their company secrets entrusted to a bunch of volunteers rather than keep
them securely locked inside a server somewhere is another question entirely.
I guess the fact that they trust FAX technology more than email and web
servers pretty much says it all. (And the fact that they took two
years to decide to get off the dime ... and are now slowly rolling out
IIS and Outlook across the company is even sillier!!!)
<p>Anyway, while procmail might just do the trick, I don't think the mail
hosting service is going to be very willing to plug it into their Apache
configuration, if you get my drift. Most don't even seem to know
what procmail is! Hey, they might be running something that doesn't
know what procmail is.
<p>The few auto-responders I've seen appear to be designed to support the
needs of spammers -- send a reply to a box and get a canned response back
that isn't changed for weeks or months. IOW, a very static design.
<p>Doesn't somebody make a mail server with a hook in it that says, "when
mail that matches this pattern arrives, hand it off to this script"?
I realize that's what procmail enables, but I'm talking about a server/service,
not some microsurgical techniques that work on a specific class of MTAs.
<p>-David</html>
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