E-mail message recipients have option to reject read receipt

[Guest]

In Outlook 2003, an e-mail recipient receives a message that states that the
sender wants a read receipt and then gives them the option to select yes or
no. This baffles me as to why we even have the ability to request a read
receipt. It certainly defeats the purpose for which I request a receipt.
For those who always tell me that they did not receive my e-mail message
concerning federal compliance, I have no recourse. The recipient can just
say they did not receive the message. Yes, I could put a delivery receipt on
the message; however, there are some people I send to that have "team
mailboxes" and everyone says that no one saw it or read it. Any suggestions?

 

[Ben M. Schorr - MVP]

I'm afraid it's even worse than that -- if you send messages to people using
non-Outlook e-mail clients you might not get any read receipts back at all.

Furthermore not all mail servers support read receipts so even if their
client was willing to comply, their server might not be so cooperative.

And even if you get a read receipt does that mean the recipient actually
read it? No. It just means the message was marked as read. It could have
been marked as read by a rule or script. It could have been marked as read
by another person browsing the Inbox.

Bottom line: You can't depend upon Read Receipts to confirm that the
recipient actually read the message.

If you must have confirmation that they read a message you'll have to tie
something else to it. Send them a memo and require them to sign and return
it confirming that they have read the compliance statement otherwise there
will be some consequence.
--
Aloha,

-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr, OneNote-MVP
Roland Schorr & Tower
http://www.rolandschorr.com
Microsoft OneNote FAQ: http://www.factplace.com/onenotefaq.htm

**I apologize but I am unable to respond to direct requests for assistance.
Please post questions and replies here in the newsgroup. Mahalo!

 

[Guest]

I'm afraid it's even worse than that -- if you send messages to people using
non-Outlook e-mail clients you might not get any read receipts back at all.

Furthermore not all mail servers support read receipts so even if their
client was willing to comply, their server might not be so cooperative.

And even if you get a read receipt does that mean the recipient actually
read it? No. It just means the message was marked as read. It could have
been marked as read by a rule or script. It could have been marked as read
by another person browsing the Inbox.

Bottom line: You can't depend upon Read Receipts to confirm that the
recipient actually read the message.

If you must have confirmation that they read a message you'll have to tie
something else to it. Send them a memo and require them to sign and return
it confirming that they have read the compliance statement otherwise there
will be some consequence.
--
Aloha,

-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr, OneNote-MVP
Roland Schorr & Tower
http://www.rolandschorr.com
Microsoft OneNote FAQ: http://www.factplace.com/onenotefaq.htm

**I apologize but I am unable to respond to direct requests for assistance.
Please post questions and replies here in the newsgroup. Mahalo!