Permanent vs. temporary problems

Every Reason falls into one of two groups:

• Permanent — The address can't receive email from your site again until the underlying issue is fixed. Common examples include an invalid address, a recipient who marked your email as spam, or an account that has been suppressed.
• Temporary — The address could not receive a specific email but may be able to receive email again later. Common examples include a full mailbox, an over-sized attachment, or a brief problem with the recipient's mail server.

To see the full list of Reason values, see Text Opt-Out Reasons.

Self-service unsubscribe

• Unsubscribed — The recipient clicked the unsubscribe link in an email from your site. If they later ask to start receiving email again, you can opt them back in from the Email Opt-Outs tab.

Permanent bounces — address can't receive email

• Hard Bounce — The recipient's mail server permanently rejected the email. The address is invalid or unreachable.
• Hard Bounce (Unknown) — The recipient's mail server rejected the email but didn't say why. Treat this the same as a Hard Bounce.
• Email Address Does Not Exist — There is no mailbox at the address. The address may have been mistyped, or the account may have been closed.
• Recipient Unsubscribed — The recipient's mail provider reported that the recipient wishes to unsubscribe.

Suppression lists — the email service is blocking sends to this address

Realm uses Amazon SES to send email. When the email service decides an address shouldn't receive mail — usually because the address has a history of bouncing or being marked as spam — it adds the address to a suppression list and refuses to send any future messages to it. The message is blocked before it leaves the platform, so the recipient never sees it.

Two Reasons indicate that an address has been suppressed. They differ in which list the address is on:

• SES Suppression — The address is on the email service's platform-wide suppression list. It has a history of bouncing or being reported as spam across many senders, not just your church. Realm cannot clear this list.
• SES Account Suppression List — The address is on ACS Technologies' own suppression list within the email service. The address was added automatically after a previous email from ACS Technologies hard-bounced or was reported as spam by the recipient. This protects ACS Technologies' sender reputation. Realm cannot clear this list.

If you need to send email to a suppressed address, contact ACS Support. Support can investigate why the address was suppressed and, when appropriate, request its removal.

Temporary bounces — address may receive email later

• Soft Bounce — The email could not be delivered, but the problem may not be permanent.
• Mailbox Is Full — The recipient's inbox is full and cannot accept new messages.
• Message Too Large — The recipient's mail server refused the message because it exceeded the size limit.
• Content Rejected — The recipient's mail server rejected the message based on its content, such as words or links that looked suspicious.
• Attachment Rejected — The recipient's mail server rejected an attachment for security or policy reasons.

Complaints — recipient flagged your email

These Reasons are permanent. The recipient (or their mail server) reported the email as unwanted or harmful. Keep in mind, the recipient may have done this by mistake.

• Marked As Abusive — The recipient reported the email as spam or unwanted.
• EMail Marked As Fraud — The recipient reported the email as a fraud or phishing attempt.
• EMail Marked As Having A Virus — The recipient or their mail server identified the email as containing a virus.

Complaints — possibly temporary

These reasons sometimes resolve on their own or may indicate a temporary problem with the recipient's mail server.

• General Complaint (No Type Given) — A complaint was registered without specifying a category.
• Mail Server Auth Failure — The recipient's mail server reported an authentication problem with the message.
• General Complaint (Unknown) — A complaint was registered with an unrecognized category.

What you can do

• If the address is wrong — Open the person's profile and update the email address. Future email will go to the new address.
• If the message bounced for a temporary reason — Wait. Many temporary problems resolve on their own. If the same address keeps bouncing for the same Reason, ask the recipient to check their inbox capacity, spam filter, or mail server settings.
• If the recipient marked your email as spam, fraud, or a virus — Don't send them more email through Realm. Contact them directly through another channel to find out whether they meant to flag the message.
• If the address is on a suppression list — Contact ACS Support. Suppression lists are managed at the email-service level and cannot be cleared from Realm.
• If the recipient asks to start receiving email again — On the Email Opt-Outs tab, click Opt Back In next to their name. The button only appears for Reasons that allow opt-back-in.

Is your email still blocked?

Congregants with blocked emails may contact a church or parish administrator for assistance. ACST Support can take several steps to unblock the email address.

If you're a church or parish administrator, contact Support to unblock an email address.