[SOC] It's true!

[Michael Coslo]

For those who don't know me, I'm the Chairman of the Pennsylvania QSO  
Party.

We have an electronic log submission process that whenever a person  
sends in a log via email, it automatically sends a copy of the log to  
me, the Vice chairman, and keeps a copy on the server. The Operator  
gets a email reply that says we got the log, and thanks him for  
operation in the party, yada, yada. If it's not a log, I don't see it.  
But it isn't a terribly complicated system. The email reply is  
triggered on the email, not the log.

A couple years ago, an Op had sent his log to our email address just  
like he was supposed to.

Right before declaring all logs received, I check the server just to  
make sure I have everything.

I see several emails from this guy. Now that's odd.....

I open the first - it's his submission. Standard autoreply.

I open the second - he asked a question. Standard autoreply again.

Third - he writes that we didn't answer his question. Yup, same  
autoreply.

Now he's mad.

Fourth through eighth, was an increasingly irritated batch of posts,  
ending up with lots of swearing, disparaging remarks about the QSO  
Party, and my intelligence, lineage and ancestors. All the time, the  
robot is thanking him kindly in reply.

I quickly got hold of the fellow and explained what happened. After  
his embarrassment about getting into a fight with an email robot, we  
both had to agree that it was awfully funny.

I modified the autoreply message to include that people should not do  
correspondence at that address.

But this might be the most SOC thing I'd ever seen.


-73 de Mike N3LI -