# Out of office replies to Digests are still being processed as new topics **URL:** \ **Category:** Bug\ **Tags:** email, activity-summary\ **Created:** [2015年二月9日 14:35 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017 "2015-02-09T14:35:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![downey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/downey/32/166878_2.png) [@downey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/downey)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月9日 14:35 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/1 "2015-02-09T14:35:52Z")
Continuing the discussion from [Auto-response email replies to Digests are processed as new topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/auto-response-email-replies-to-digests-are-processed-as-new-topic/22564/7): > [@techAPJ](#): > > Fixed 🐛 > > [FIX: auto response email replies should not be accepted by arpitjalan · Pull Request #3023 · discourse/discourse · GitHub](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/3023) These are still happening. ☹ > **[Automatic reply: \[OpenMRS Talk\] Digest for 02-09-2015](https://talk.openmrs.org/t/automatic-reply-openmrs-talk-digest-for-02-09-2015/1130?u=michael)** > > I will be on leave through Friday, February 27th with no phone access and very limited access to email. For urgent requests, please contact Dr. Starley Shade at starley.shade@ucsf.edu for questions regarding the CDC-Mozambique project. Thank you... ---
**Author:** ![techAPJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/techapj/32/342990_2.png) [@techAPJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/techAPJ)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月9日 14:56 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/2 "2015-02-09T14:56:39Z")
Please PM me the email source. ---
**Author:** ![riking](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/riking/32/170938_2.png) [@riking](https://meta.discourse.org/u/riking)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月9日 22:27 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/3 "2015-02-09T22:27:16Z")
You should make the `notification email` go to a different mailbox than the one used for email-in. I think that’ll solve it. ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/codinghorror/32/110067_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月9日 23:27 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/4 "2015-02-09T23:27:05Z")
I agree with this @downey – you really should not use the same mailbox for “send an email here to create a new topic” as you do for “sign all emails as coming from this email address”. I suggest `noreply@domain.com` or some other basic “hey don’t send email here please, it will be ignored” autoresponder should be your default email address in `notification email`. ---
**Author:** ![downey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/downey/32/166878_2.png) [@downey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/downey)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月9日 23:46 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/5 "2015-02-09T23:46:13Z")
I’ve changed the value of `notification email` from **[discourse@example.org](mailto:discourse@example.org)** (which as @riking stated was the default/uncategorized email in address) to **[discourse+noreply@example.org](mailto:discourse+noreply@example.org)**. I also set up a filter in the Gmail inbox to automatically delete both: - Any mail sent to [discourse+noreply@example.org](mailto:discourse+noreply@example.org) - Any mail with a subject including “[Site Name] Digest” It still seems a bit hacky if we can’t keep Outlook auto-replies from posting, but hopefully the workaround will prevent the problem. ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/codinghorror/32/110067_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月10日 00:00 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/6 "2015-02-10T00:00:28Z")
Creating a new topic should be a fairly rare and specialized event.. having the “send an email here to create a new topic” and “reply to this email for ANYTHING!” emails be the same is just a recipe for disaster. ---
**Author:** ![techAPJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/techapj/32/342990_2.png) [@techAPJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/techAPJ)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月18日 13:49 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/7 "2015-02-18T13:49:55Z")
I spent some time today on this issue, and it seems like the older version(s) of MS Outlook does not provide any header to detect if the email is auto generated or not. 😞 The only way to find if the email is auto generated is to look for “Automatic reply” at the starting of the email subject. Related SO question: > Not sure if we should scan every email subject for the string “Automatic reply” (including locale) for MS Outlook compatibility. Suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![downey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/downey/32/166878_2.png) [@downey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/downey)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月18日 14:29 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/8 "2015-02-18T14:29:27Z")
Great research. There will clearly be pros and cons to this approach, but I’d go a step further and consider a search for “Automatic reply:” (with colon) at the **beginning** of the subject string, which would be just a bit safer. ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/codinghorror/32/110067_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月18日 17:38 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/9 "2015-02-18T17:38:43Z")
I don’t know if we care about Outlook 2003.. that’s over a decade old at this point. I’d just check for the header. Checking the title string means the check has to be localized in 20+ languages. Not worth it for 11 year old software. ---
**Author:** ![downey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/downey/32/166878_2.png) [@downey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/downey)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月18日 17:56 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/10 "2015-02-18T17:56:22Z")
FWIW, Outlook 2000/2004 is 8% of email client market share. Almost just as much as Gmail. [https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/will-it-work/email-clients/](https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/will-it-work/email-clients/) ---
**Author:** ![DeanMarkTaylor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/deanmarktaylor/32/102462_2.png) [@DeanMarkTaylor](https://meta.discourse.org/u/DeanMarkTaylor)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月18日 18:06 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/11 "2015-02-18T18:06:30Z")
> [@downey](#): > > FWIW, Outlook 2000/2004 is 8% of email client market share. Almost just as much as Gmail. > > [https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/will-it-work/email-clients/](https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/will-it-work/email-clients/) That info is from September 2012 - would be nice to get newer stats (if available) before making a decision though. ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/codinghorror/32/110067_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月18日 18:13 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/12 "2015-02-18T18:13:23Z")
Yeah @downey given the 32% decline in Outlook (desktop) they measured year over year in 2012 and the _INCREDIBLE_ velocity of mobile in the same time frame.. I think we can definitively drop this. Long term all mail will be read on mobile, the trend stats are just overwhelming there. ---
**Author:** ![DeanMarkTaylor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/deanmarktaylor/32/102462_2.png) [@DeanMarkTaylor](https://meta.discourse.org/u/DeanMarkTaylor)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月18日 18:14 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/13 "2015-02-18T18:14:27Z")
Found these numbers: ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/b/c/bcd792850622084a5966dd0f83387513853fcd0f.png) > **[53% of Emails Opened on Mobile; Outlook Opens Decrease 33%](https://www.litmus.com/blog/53-of-emails-opened-on-mobile-outlook-opens-decrease-33)** > > We’ve been tracking email opens for more than 4 years. And it’s incredible to see how behaviors have changed over time. Mobile email was barely a blip on our radars in 2011, and made up just 8% of email opens. Fast forward to 2014, and nearly half of... ---
**Author:** ![downey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/downey/32/166878_2.png) [@downey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/downey)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月18日 18:16 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/14 "2015-02-18T18:16:26Z")
There we go. Serves me right for trying to do research on a mobile web browser. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![downey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/downey/32/166878_2.png) [@downey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/downey)\ **Post date:** [2015年二月18日 18:25 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/16 "2015-02-18T18:25:14Z")
![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/1/a/1a03beb6f4b4cb4043c29e6eeee39e8f2616e1f2.png) [http://emailclientmarketshare.com/](http://emailclientmarketshare.com/) is the Litmus profile that is updated monthly so has even more up-to-date data. ---
**Author:** ![sam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/sam/32/102149_2.png) [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)\ **Post date:** [2016年三月16日 13:03 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/17 "2016-03-16T13:03:51Z")
I am closing this as “will not fix”, this is a bug in an old version of outlook that will eventually die. ---
**Author:** ![sam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/sam/32/102149_2.png) [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)\ **Post date:** [2016年三月16日 13:03 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/18 "2016-03-16T13:03:54Z")
---
**Author:** ![zogstrip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/zogstrip/32/512781_2.png) [@zogstrip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/zogstrip)\ **Post date:** [2016年三月16日 16:21 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/out-of-office-replies-to-digests-are-still-being-processed-as-new-topics/25017/19 "2016-03-16T16:21:51Z")
Pretty sure this issue was fixed when I reworked our email in support 😉