Bounced messages

What is a bounce?

Each time you send an e-mail message using your ListMessenger.net account, you should be prepared to get a few messages returned to you. There may be various reasons for this. The most common reason is that the mailbox of the recipient is full ("over quota") and thus not accepting more incoming messages. But the subscriber may also have changed his/her e-mail addressed or job, resulting in an e-mail address that no longer exists.

Why do messages bounce?

The most important factor is the age of the list. When you're sending a message to a list that you haven't used for a few months, it is very likely a significant number of addresses on the list have become inactive. Just remember, people change their jobs, they move, they switch to a different ISP.

Where will the bounced message go to?

In your ListMessenger.net account, you can specify a special e-mail address that will receive all bounced messages. Log in to your account, click on Control Panel, then Preferences, and then Program Preferences. In the box labeled Contact Information, you can change the Bounce address. Obviously, you must make sure that e-mail address actually exists, otherwise you're only adding to the problem!

What should you do when a message bounces?

When you receive a bounced message, read the error message that the mail server includes. When you conclude from the error message that the e-mail address has become invalid and won't ever become valid again, you're going to have to delete it from your mailing list. Log in to your account and search for the subscriber by e-mail address. Next, when you've found the subscriber, select the checkbox in front of the listing and then click the button labeled "Delete Selected" at the bottom of the list. You will see a confirmation screen, but when you confirm, the address is deleted for good.

Make sure you don't delete a subscriber, just because you get a bounce. It may be that the bounce is just a warning that the recipient's mailbox is full ("over quota"), it may also be an out-of-office-reply.

Can't I just ignore the bounces?

Well, you can, but eventually someone will notice, especially if you're sending frequently. And when they do, the internet service provider of the invalid address will block all messages from your account (and all of our other accounts too). Don't keep trying if you know the address doesn't work, it will only get us all in trouble. You should aim to keep a clean list.

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