Go on, hit Reply All. We dare you. We double dare you. Because Office 365 will defeat your server-slamming ways
(2020/05/08)
- Reference: 1588900326
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/08/exchange_online_reply_all_storm_prevention/
- Source link:
Microsoft may just have made Reply All storms a thing of the past, by adding a suitable blocker to Exchange in Office 365 environments.
The new measure was [1]promised in November 2019 as a “feature to better help thwart, or at least reduce the impact of, Reply-All Mail Storms.”
It’s now landed in Exchange Online, and looks out for ten Reply-All messages to more than 5000 recipients flowing through within 60 minutes. Once the server spots that kind of action, it blocks replies to the thread for four hours and presents users with the warning below.
[2]
It looks like you want to spam your own server
and annoy your colleagues.
But we’ve shut that down. Click to enlarge
But that’s it for now and it’s a rather blunt instrument. Thankfully, the Microsoft Exchange Team’s [3]announcement of the new feature adds: "We are considering possible future enhancements to improve our reply all storm detection accuracy, add admin customizable thresholds and block duration, as well as producing reply all storm reports and notifications.”
Microsoft staff giggle beneath the weight of a 52,000-person Reply-All email storm [4]READ MORE
That post also says: “We’re already seeing the first version of the feature successfully reduce the impact of reply all storms within Microsoft (humans still behave like humans no matter which company they work for).” Yet Microsoft recently [5]endured a big Reply-All storm that was sparked, in part, by staffers frustrated by pandemic-induced work-from home regimes.
Another reason to proceed with caution: Microsoft’s director of product marketing for Exchange Server and Exchange Online doesn’t seem completely confident in the new tool, if this tweet mentioning “career defining” testing is any indication...
Reply All Storm Protection in [6]#MSExchange Online is now available! Not sure you can test it without giving yourself a career defining moment, but it's there - honest! [7]https://t.co/PniCt95shr [8]pic.twitter.com/enSPwlSP66 — Greg Taylor (@gregtaylor_msft) [9]May 7, 2020
The new feature is rolling out across the world of Office 365 as you read this very story. ®
Sponsored: [10]How To Accelerate Brilliant Digital Experiences With Low-Code
[1] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/exchange-team-blog/exchange-transport-news-from-microsoft-ignite-2019/ba-p/993417
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/05/07/microsoft_reply_all_info.jpg
[3] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/exchange-team-blog/reply-all-storm-protection-in-exchange-online/ba-p/1369811
[4] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/26/microsoft_reply_all_email_storm_52000/
[5] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/26/microsoft_reply_all_email_storm_52000/
[6] https://twitter.com/hashtag/MSExchange?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[7] https://t.co/PniCt95shr
[8] https://t.co/enSPwlSP66
[9] https://twitter.com/gregtaylor_msft/status/1258457227456724992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[10] https://go.theregister.co.uk/tl/1936/-8552/how-to-accelerate-brilliant-digital-experiences-with-low-code?td=wptl1936
The new measure was [1]promised in November 2019 as a “feature to better help thwart, or at least reduce the impact of, Reply-All Mail Storms.”
It’s now landed in Exchange Online, and looks out for ten Reply-All messages to more than 5000 recipients flowing through within 60 minutes. Once the server spots that kind of action, it blocks replies to the thread for four hours and presents users with the warning below.
[2]
It looks like you want to spam your own server
and annoy your colleagues.
But we’ve shut that down. Click to enlarge
But that’s it for now and it’s a rather blunt instrument. Thankfully, the Microsoft Exchange Team’s [3]announcement of the new feature adds: "We are considering possible future enhancements to improve our reply all storm detection accuracy, add admin customizable thresholds and block duration, as well as producing reply all storm reports and notifications.”
Microsoft staff giggle beneath the weight of a 52,000-person Reply-All email storm [4]READ MORE
That post also says: “We’re already seeing the first version of the feature successfully reduce the impact of reply all storms within Microsoft (humans still behave like humans no matter which company they work for).” Yet Microsoft recently [5]endured a big Reply-All storm that was sparked, in part, by staffers frustrated by pandemic-induced work-from home regimes.
Another reason to proceed with caution: Microsoft’s director of product marketing for Exchange Server and Exchange Online doesn’t seem completely confident in the new tool, if this tweet mentioning “career defining” testing is any indication...
Reply All Storm Protection in [6]#MSExchange Online is now available! Not sure you can test it without giving yourself a career defining moment, but it's there - honest! [7]https://t.co/PniCt95shr [8]pic.twitter.com/enSPwlSP66 — Greg Taylor (@gregtaylor_msft) [9]May 7, 2020
The new feature is rolling out across the world of Office 365 as you read this very story. ®
Sponsored: [10]How To Accelerate Brilliant Digital Experiences With Low-Code
[1] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/exchange-team-blog/exchange-transport-news-from-microsoft-ignite-2019/ba-p/993417
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/05/07/microsoft_reply_all_info.jpg
[3] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/exchange-team-blog/reply-all-storm-protection-in-exchange-online/ba-p/1369811
[4] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/26/microsoft_reply_all_email_storm_52000/
[5] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/26/microsoft_reply_all_email_storm_52000/
[6] https://twitter.com/hashtag/MSExchange?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[7] https://t.co/PniCt95shr
[8] https://t.co/enSPwlSP66
[9] https://twitter.com/gregtaylor_msft/status/1258457227456724992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[10] https://go.theregister.co.uk/tl/1936/-8552/how-to-accelerate-brilliant-digital-experiences-with-low-code?td=wptl1936
User education
Could be useful once fleshed out with custom thresholds etc though I have a mental image of a user seeing the restriction message, not reading a single word of it, and immediately ringing IT about an "email error" and how they absolutely need to send this picture of their cat but the email is broke.