>Hello Listserv users,
>
>I'm new on Listserv and I would like to know how we can setup, as we have one
>time, an antiloop manager. I explain:
>
>someone has sent a message from say request@somewhere to our [log in to unmask]
>
>Manager replies to request, and attach the request message to the end of
>the mail body. Request received it, and replied to manager, and so, and so,
>and so. With chance, both have length limitation and the message didn't grew
>up to much, but it bounce during all a nite long...
>
>So my questions are in fact, how Listserv handles and manages this, with what
>technics etc? I never want such a thing in my life.

Is the idea that the manager has an autoreplier, so that any mail
sent to the manager results in an autoreply?  There are several
things LISTSERV does to prevent mail loops in this situation.

First of all, the message you get when you send a message to a
-request address does not have any header lines pointing back to the
request address.

| From: "L-Soft list server at [whatever] (1.8d)"
|       <LISTSERV@[whatever]>
| Subject:      Your message to [listname]-request@[whatever]

Any autoresponses would go to the listserv address, therefore, rather
than the -request address.

What keeps your manager from getting into a mail loop with LISTSERV?
Several things.  If it comes down to it, the final defense is that if
LISTSERV receives fifty consecutive bad commands from an email
address it 'serves' that address out and essentially refuses to act
on, or respond to, any further messages from that address.  (See
http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/owner-faq.stm#4 for some more
information on serving out.)

There are other things going on that should hopefully prevent that
from happening, particularly if the autoreplier is written well, but
the bottom line is that the above should prevent a mail loop of the
type you describe from getting out of hand.

Thanks,
--
Jacob Haller, Technical Support
L-Soft international, Inc
http://www.lsoft.com/