Hi Joyce -- If he's out of the office, I think a member might be interested in knowing that fact, for how long, and who to contact in his absence...as opposed to that member sending an email that remains unanswered until he gets back into the office, and possibly getting the impression that it fell in between the cracks or he has no interest. Just my point of view. 73, Brian N5ZGT On Mon, 14 Mar 2011, Joyce Birmingham wrote:

  I'm a bit concerned over the Out Of Office Reply messages that Mike Corey has consistently been putting up. I don't think this is the message that we (ARRL) should be sending...."hello, thanks, but no one is home!"  or..."oh yeah, I'm not here, but you can contact my Assistant"  I'd rather receive nothing!!!   I'm sorry if this comes off sarcastically, but I'm concerned. Disasters don't take vacations, and good volunteers are hard to find. This is what is frustrating the hell out of the SEC in NNJ, as well as a few others in the Section.      Tell me I'm not the only one!   73, Joyce KA2ANF     ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio? Joyce A. Birmingham, KA2ANF ARRL Director - Hudson Division 235 Van Emburgh Avenue Ridgewood, NJ 07450-2918 201-445-5924 ka2anf@arrl.net     -----Original Message----- From: George Sabbi [mailto:KC2GLG@arrl.net] Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 12:35 PM To: Joyce Birmingham Subject: FW: Out of Office AutoReply: ARRL NNJ Section ARES Status Update - Ongoing Flooding Event - Monday 3/14/2011 - 12:00 Noon

Maybe he went to Japan.....or NJ to 'help'?????   George Sabbi KC2GLG Section Emergency Coordinator ARRL Northern New Jersey Section Email: KC2GLG@arrl.net Website: www.hudson.arrl.org/nnj/ares     -----Original Message----- From: Corey, Michael, W5MPC [mailto:mcorey@arrl.org] Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 12:32 PM To: George Sabbi Subject: Out of Office AutoReply: ARRL NNJ Section ARES Status Update - Ongoing Flooding Event - Monday 3/14/2011 - 12:00 Noon

I will be out of the office from Monday March 14 through Monday March 21. I will be back in the office Tuesday March 22 around 10am. If you need anything before then email Ken Bailey, K1FUG, Emergency Preparedness Assistant k1fug@arrl.org . If it is Field Organization related email Steve Ewald, WV1X, Field Services Supervisor, sewald@arrl.org

Thanks and 73 de Mike, W5MPC

ARRL Director, Rocky Mountain Division On the web at www.RockyMountainDivision.org

Out of Office AutoReply: ARRL NNJ Section ARES Status Update - Ongoing Flooding Event - Monday 3/14/2011 - 12:00 NoonJoyce, I'm not sure I see this the same way that you do. I'm glad that there is an auto reply. That tells me that the message got through and I can't expect an immediate response (and in this case whom to email if I need a more timely response.) If there wasn't a reply, I'd wonder if the message got through.... I'm not saying that the auto reply is the best one that could be drafted, but I don't expect everyone to put the kind of wordsmithing into everything the way a professional writer might. I will say that his message definitely does not say that no one is home. It does tell a person who they need to contact (that is available) based on their type of need. I also understand that the situation might look differently to me since I don't have an event where I am trying to get a hold of someone for help with an emergency in my division. Mike's job isn't the same as an emergency manager or the 'duty officer' for a city, county, etc. Nor is the role of the ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Coordinator so critical to any emergency that a few hours delay can't be tolerated (particularly in emailing someone else like Ken.) If you want to argue to the contrary, then I'd say a person has really unrealistic expectations of email. Mike's or his assistant's role is to facilitate and coordinate, but if someone or some event is SO dependent on Mike and the ARRL immediately answering, that there's a critical issue when he's not available via email, then someone at that event/group/agency failed in his or her planning. Using an auto reply to let the sender know that there won't be a response for some period of time is pretty much a professional standard as far as I'm concerned. Jim's comments over the phone message are something different than an email auto reply. Now I need to add another sentence since us lawyers get paid by the word and I'm thinking about a new radio.... (the dots count too!) 73, Grant -----Original Message----- From: arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org]On Behalf Of Joyce Birmingham Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 6:34 PM To: ARRL ODV Subject: [arrl-odv:19763] FW: Out of Office AutoReply: ARRL NNJ Section ARESStatus Update - Ongoing Flooding Event - Monday 3/14/2011 -12:00 Noon I'm a bit concerned over the Out Of Office Reply messages that Mike Corey has consistently been putting up. I don't think this is the message that we (ARRL) should be sending...."hello, thanks, but no one is home!" or..."oh yeah, I'm not here, but you can contact my Assistant" I'd rather receive nothing!!! I'm sorry if this comes off sarcastically, but I'm concerned. Disasters don't take vacations, and good volunteers are hard to find. This is what is frustrating the hell out of the SEC in NNJ, as well as a few others in the Section. Tell me I'm not the only one! 73, Joyce KA2ANF ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio™ Joyce A. Birmingham, KA2ANF ARRL Director - Hudson Division 235 Van Emburgh Avenue Ridgewood, NJ 07450-2918 201-445-5924 ka2anf@arrl.net -----Original Message----- From: George Sabbi [mailto:KC2GLG@arrl.net] Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 12:35 PM To: Joyce Birmingham Subject: FW: Out of Office AutoReply: ARRL NNJ Section ARES Status Update - Ongoing Flooding Event - Monday 3/14/2011 - 12:00 Noon Maybe he went to Japan.....or NJ to 'help'????? George Sabbi KC2GLG Section Emergency Coordinator ARRL Northern New Jersey Section Email: KC2GLG@arrl.net Website: www.hudson.arrl.org/nnj/ares -----Original Message----- From: Corey, Michael, W5MPC [mailto:mcorey@arrl.org] Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 12:32 PM To: George Sabbi Subject: Out of Office AutoReply: ARRL NNJ Section ARES Status Update - Ongoing Flooding Event - Monday 3/14/2011 - 12:00 Noon I will be out of the office from Monday March 14 through Monday March 21. I will be back in the office Tuesday March 22 around 10am. If you need anything before then email Ken Bailey, K1FUG, Emergency Preparedness Assistant k1fug@arrl.org . If it is Field Organization related email Steve Ewald, WV1X, Field Services Supervisor, sewald@arrl.org Thanks and 73 de Mike, W5MPC