Have you ever sent an email to a list by mistake, when you expected it to go to an individual?
This can happen when the sender’s email address has been changed to be the list email address. Simplelists has to sometimes change the sender’s email address in order for emails to be delivered. When a list message is received, Simplelists will check the sender’s email address to see if:
- The sender’s domain has a DMARC policy of 'reject’ or 'quarantine’.
- There are any modifications added to the email, for example the headers and footers that can be configured in Simplelists; email modifications will break the DKIM signature.
If both of these conditions are true, Simplelists will change the sender’s email address.
Sometimes, an email might go to a list by mistake due to how your email program has saved the list email address. A contact might have the list email address saved to them accidentally; the contact will then appear as Joan Smith <mylist@simplelists.com> in your email’s contact list or address book.
The methods below are ways of getting around this if it is an issue for you or your organization.
How to get around this
There are three main methods of working around this issue:
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Simplelists offers a DMARC mode for all account types that can be accessed in list settings. The different settings found here can be used to workaround DMARC restrictions of a sender’s domain.
The relevant setting here is If the sender’s email address is changed. This can be set to either:
Show original sender details in sender description and reply-to header
The email will display the From as the sender’s name (via the name of the list)
Show original sender details only in reply-to header
The email will display the From as the list description configured in list settings.
For this workaround, the second option should be used
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The second option is to configure how the list email address is saved in your email address book by saving it as its own set contact. Using the example above, this would make it appear as My List <mylist@simplelists.com>.
For larger organizations, you can also configure how the list email address is saved in your organization’s global address book. The name of this can differ depending on your mail provider - for example, in Microsoft systems this is called the GAL (Global Address List). Changes made here will override how the list email address is saved in the employees’ local address books. - Finally, removing any email modifications will ensure the DKIM signature is not broken. This means the sender’s email address will not need to be changed. Remove any headers or footers (a footer is set by default) that are set in your list settings in Simplelists.
