Periodically, I run a script that sends out a piece of mail to each person on the mail lists we run. The mail goes directly from here to them, not via the majordomo mail list program. This makes it a lot easier to track down dead addresses that were being bounced around several accounts before coming back. Due to shitty (microsoft) mail programs, the bounced messages would come back with absolutely no identifying information related to the original subscriber. In the mail we send out, it clearly states the purpose of the message, and even tells them how to unsubscribe in case they want to. The first mail in this thread is what we mail out to each user. Despite everything being spelled out clearly, I typically get half a dozen responses saying they don't want to be removed, or asking to be unsubscribed. Some people go one step further...
Subject: Subscription verification for (user address) on the (list name) list.
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If you receive this message, then everything is fine with your address.
YOU DO **NOT** NEED TO REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE!
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We are sending out this test message due to untraceable bounces
we are getting on our list, \"(list name)." Due to people subscribing
vanity forwards, or redirecting mail through several sites,
and the increase in worthless Windows based MTA's, the required
header information needed to track down the bounces is lost. This
forces us to send out obnoxious mails every so often to test
all addresses. For those who do not understand all that mumbo
jumbo: mail leaves this system, comes back to us, and has absolutely
NO identifying information to tell us where it was originally
delivered.
IF YOU WISH TO UNSUBSCRIBE
IF YOU WISH TO UNSUBSCRIBE
To unsubscribe from $list, send mail to majordomo@attrition.org with
'unsubscribe (list name)' in the body of the mail (without the single
quotes).
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If you receive this message, then everything is fine with your address.
YOU DO **NOT** NEED TO REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE!
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Thank you for your patience while we track down the source of
the bounced messages.
Attrition Staff
Didn't keep his original, but it's quoted as the first line here. Instead of typing it back up, I just quote part of the original message too.
