I’ll leave out mocking of the 67 comments and RTs before me — they’re simply too …. well too much.

1) Most people don’t understand their tech. They likely don’t know there are options.

2) Many people don’t pick their own technology. It’s some IT guy in a basement and they simply don’t have the options available to them — their OOO (out of office) msg does Re: Period — no options.

3) The IT guy in the basement did not pick the technology his company based on how it deal with OOO msgs. S/He picked it based on security, remote or web interfaces, user interface, integration with legacy systems or productivity software (Word processing, spreadsheets, etc.). If OOO preferences were anywhere on the list they were last.

4) Peter, you really? You don’t care about your bud who’ll be scuba diving for 2 weeks. It gives you something to talk about on their return — relationship building at its very best

5) I need the helpful maternity leave reminder — you know what — that item isn’t making its way onto my calendar, particularly given the number of people who don’t return to work following maternity leave b/c they’ve decided to becomes stay at home moms or get better jobs while off.

6) The two times per day thing — Blame T. Ferriss and the 4 hour workweek. It’s one of his techniques for time management. And given that most people are willing to do what they’re told to do it likely works.