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WiscMail - Vacation Message FAQ

This document answers some common questions regarding the WiscMail Vacation Message system.

• How do I set up a Vacation Message?
• Will the vacation message work immediately after I have set the time/message?
• Will WiscMail send a Vacation Message for every message that is sent to me?
• Will a vacation message reply be sent to a spam message, even if WiscMail rates it as spam?
• Will my vacation message be sent if I have a forward setup for my email account?
• Will vacation messages be sent for messages that are BCC'd to me or if the message was originally sent to an account that forwards to me?
• Can I use the vacation message feature in my email client?

How do I set up a Vacation Message?

• A guide to configuring a vacation message can be found here:
  WiscMail - Setting a Vacation Message

Will the vacation message work immediately after I have set the time/message?

• No. Your vacation message will take around 20 minutes to take effect.

Will WiscMail send a Vacation Message for every message that is sent to me?

• No, the WiscMail servers will only send out your Vacation Message to a specific sender once a day, and only if the incoming message is explicitly sent to you. This is intended to prevent unnecessary email messages, while still reminding the email senders that you are not checking your email. It also helps to prevent a situation in which two automatic reply's transfer emails back and forth between them, also known as "looping".

Will a Vacation Message reply be sent to a spam message, even if WiscMail rates it as spam?

• Yes, but not for every spam message you receive. The Vacation Message is designed to reply to every email you receive with the message you specify, it cannot discriminate based on what folder a specific message will be filed into. The Vacation Message will not interrupt the process of filing the spam into the Junk Mail folder, but it will send out your autoreply, which can alert the spammers to your valid email address. However, almost all spam messages will NOT generate a vacation message. For an autoreply to be sent out, your specific email address must appear in the "To:" or "CC:" fields of the incoming email. As spammers usually send to large lists or forged addresses, most spam messages will not elicit an Autoreply.

Will my vacation message be sent if I have a forward setup for my email account?

• No, forwarding takes precedence. The email message will be forwarded to the appropriate forwarded address and no vacation message will be sent to the user.

Will Vacation Messages be sent out if the original email was sent to an account that forwards to my WiscMail account?

• No, the original message must have your address in the "To:" or "CC:" fields. This prevents autoreplies to lists and to most spam messages.

Can I use the Vacation Message feature in my email client?

• Yes, but it is neither supported nor encouraged. Most email clients do not properly detect vacation message "looping", which is the case in which two email accounts endlessly reply to each other's vacation messages. This can result in a full Inbox, and unnecessary load on the servers sending the messages back and forth. Also, not all email clients can distinguish between messages that are sent to you and messages that are sent to a list. Many lists will kick you out if you repeatedly reply to every message that is sent, so use email client's autoreplies with caution.