I have a semiautomated macro which sends this in reponse to oofbot messages: ================ This is an automatic reply to your automatic "out of office" message. When you return, consider that setting up an auto-reply sends messages to anybody who posts to a list you subscribe to. Such messages serve no purpose when sent to a listserv. It would be a good idea to think about setting your lists to nomail, if having the auto-reply is necessary. ================== I've made it as short as I can, because most of the people who do this sort of thing don't read long emails about technical issues . . . I've had a number of grateful & apologetic replies, and never a complaint. It _is_ an endless process, but if you automate it, it can be relatively painless. -- Russ St. Thomas University http://www.stu.ca/~hunt/