# What exactly happens when I get an 'Auto-reply' return from sending an email?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-i-get-an-auto-reply-return-from-sending-an-email/395614>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 12, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-i-get-an-auto-reply-return-from-sending-an-email/395614 "2007-03-12T16:03:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-i-get-an-auto-reply-return-from-sending-an-email/395614/1 "2007-03-12T16:03:22Z")

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I was wondering, I send a collegue an email today and immediately got an "auto-reply’ message saying they would be back in the office on Wednesday…

Does this mean my email will not be in her inbox when she returns on Wednesday? Does it mean I will have to resend my email on wednesday? How do auto-replys work?

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**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-i-get-an-auto-reply-return-from-sending-an-email/395614/2 "2007-03-12T16:04:52Z")

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Yes, it’s in her inbox – the auto-reply is just so you know not to expect an answer while she’s out of the office.

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**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-i-get-an-auto-reply-return-from-sending-an-email/395614/3 "2007-03-12T16:14:15Z")

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No, she’s just giving you the heads up to not expect an immediate response. The only way it wouldn’t be in her in-box woiuld be if she also set up an automatic forward for someone else to receive her e-mail while she is out.

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**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-i-get-an-auto-reply-return-from-sending-an-email/395614/4 "2007-03-12T18:18:27Z")

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An auto-reply is a simple program that checks for incoming mail and then sends a preset message to the sender in response. It does not affect the delivery of mail in any way, it’s just a heads-up that you’re not going to get a real response for a while.