It was suggesting I post this here so it wouldn't become buried in the NEPAT. It is in response to the comment or question about why many publishers don't use an auto-reply system on their email.
As to your comments about why don't other publishers set up automatic replies, the answer is simple. They're not computer gurus. They don't have the time to become computer gurus. They have a business to operate. They can do only so many things in the time they have, so they apply that time to the tasks that actually lead to bringing in an income. Automatic replies do not bring in an income because legitimate publishers are not dependent upon authors paying them.
Conversely, publishing scams rely heavily on authors paying them because that is their income. Therefore, they cannot afford to ignore any authors and will go out of their way to make an author feel welcomed. That includes making sure they have the tools such as automatic replies on their email to let the author know that they will respond later.
Legitimate publishers do not need volumes of authors. They seek volumes of readers so they can sell volumes of books. Because there is an oversupply of authors to choose from, legitimate publishers make use of that author abundance to choose only those that they feel address the market niche the publisher is targeting and winnow that down to those that meet their own preferences in style and taste. They further refine that selection process to accept only those that are well written, though not always in the order I have just outlined. In other words, you could write very well and do so with excellent style and taste. However, if your style and taste do not match their reading preferences, it doesn't matter how well you write. You're not a match for them.
Scammers have no preferences for style and taste in who they scam unless you count green as a style and taste. This is why they accept so many so often and are eager to accommodate more.
Legitimate publishers are businesses. They have no time to waste being overly polite to the point of political correctness. Most have learned it's better to just state, "No thanks, not for us." because it's least likely to offend anyone and it's as close to the truth as they can get without being offensive. They reserve their scant free time to being polite with their authors because those are the ones responsible for providing them with a salable product. Until a writer reaches that level, there is no reason to expect anything more. It's like driving down the highway. You do not tip your hat or wave to everyone you pass or who passes you simply because you don't have the time to take away from your concentration on the road. At most, you'll give a quick wave to those who allow you to enter the highway from your drive or a parking lot, but even that is about all. You and they simply do not have the time to get out, shake hands, and talk before moving on.
Scammers, on the other hand, are overly polite. They even point to their politeness as one of the things that differentiates them from others whom they try to draw as cold-blooded and stodgy, to give only two descriptions I've seen of many. They make it appear like you're receiving something for the small fee they charge. However, when it comes to actually delivering on the goal you're actually seeking, they fail to deliver and that's when their attitude changes. At that point, they're total opposites once more from legitimate businesses which value your input because your work is producing income for everyone involved. You've already paid the scammer, so they want you gone and out of their life because they know that you're not likely to pay them anything more based on the same worthless promise. They also know that it won't be worth your while trying to take them to court because the amount you'd recover is less than it would cost to go to court.
Give it some thought. Legitimate businesses don't have time for everyone because they're interested only in those who have the kind of product they want to produce as books and mass market. Scammers have time for everyone they haven't scammed yet because those people represent another paycheck to them. Businesses are brusque because they don't have a lot of time to waste. Scammers are almost always polite because that's part of how they charm you.
You want charm? Go for it. Just don't be surprised too much when reality hits you later.
By the way, Peekay, I've waited as long as two years for replies from some publishers. You might as well get used to this fact right now. You need a lot of patience. Not a little, but a lot. Then get used to needing even more.