"Blind" read receipts in OL 2003

[Hank]

Is there a way to track if someone has read an email
without a screen message informing them that a read
receipt has been requested?

Thanks

 

[Jeff Stephenson [MSFT]]

No. Internet standards require that the recipient have a choice in whether
a receipt is sent. How would you like it if a spammer could force Outlook
to send a receipt against your will?

 

[Guest]

Well, actually there IS a way to do it, but it's pretty
duplicitous and typically only spammers or overzealous
marketing groups do it. How? They embed an image tag
whose source points to a server-side script. When the
script runs, it logs your cookie id or other information
into a database of theirs before finally redirecting to an
image file.

However, most email clients have an option to exclude
these tags just as they do read receipts.

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

By default Outlook 2003 blocks all those things. You have to configure
it so that such Web bugs or <img> tags would work.

 

[Jeff Stephenson [MSFT]]

And besides, that's not a "read receipt" in the sense that the questioner
meant.

--
Jeff Stephenson
Outlook Development
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights