At least I haven't set up an Auto-Reply function yet

It is sad to learn what managers the world over know, that you will spend far more time managing the incompetent than managing the competent--the competent, of course, not needing you very frequently.

(Unrelated:
The rain it raineth on the just
And also on the unjust fella,
But chiefly on the just, because
The unjust steals the just's umbrella.
--Ogden Nash, or Lord Bowen, depending on your Internet)

I was thinking about this because I am hemi-demi-semi- in charge of an upcoming event, meaning that my email is on a relevant web page. This event's webpage has almost every conceivable type of information on it. It is thoughtfully and professionally organized. It is fairly easy to find information about the event.

And yet I have gotten thirteen emails from one would-be attendee, and at most two from anyone else. Virtually all of Incompetent Correspondent's emails have asked me questions that are answered on the website.

I typically respond to these emails with a link to the relevant portion of the website, only to get a response back that says, "I found Information A there but now I want to know about Question B. Where can I find that information." Gee, whaddaya know, there is a link on that website that provides the answer to question B! It's bafflingly successful, this Internet linky thing.

If my correspondent were particularly old, I would have more sympathy, but in fact IC is a graduate student. The point-and-click business should be straightforward by now.

So I spend 80% of my event-related effort answering emails from this nitwit, and 20% responding to other nice, competent people.

I begin to understand the mindset of PIs who simply stop responding to their trainees' emails, although that is of course a very very bad way to deal with the burdens of management however much I might like to do it.