Email revocation information message is confusing

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AI-generated summary

The discussion centers on a confusing email revocation message sent to users when their primary email is revoked on a Discourse installation. Ltrlg notes the message, which asks users to verify their email address, is unclear and poorly worded. The user explains that the email revocation process in Discourse is designed to prevent misuse, but the communication fails to clearly convey the issue or provide actionable steps. The message is seen as misleading, especially since it suggests the user might have a problem with their email setup, rather than explaining that the email has been revoked due to security or administrative reasons. The user also points out that the message is generated by the system and is not easily customizable, contributing to the confusion. The overall sentiment is that the UX of the email revocation process needs improvement to better inform users and guide them through the necessary steps.

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My primary email address has been revoked recently on a Discourse installation. When that happens, the following message is sent to the user[1]:

Is your email address correct?

We’re sorry, but we’re having trouble reaching you via email. Our last few emails to you have all bounced back as undeliverable.

Can you make sure your email address is valid and working? You may also wish to add our email address to your address book / contact list to improve deliverability.

Now I have dug a bit to decipher email revocation in Discourse, and AIUI, this is not something I can do anything about except contacting an administrator or wait for an automatic unrevocation after some time[2] –assuming my provider’s SMTP server now behaves.

Problem is: The message says nothing about these two options. The way it is written, I expect to be able to click somewhere “Yes, I checked that it works, resume sending please“; but this is not possible.

  1. I actually got it in French, this version comes from the source code on the main branch. ↩︎

  2. The default being a full month. That feels really long for something I have basically no control over and could be caused by my provider’s SMTP server going down for a small time (I use mailing list mode on that Discourse installation, failing to deliver 4 times can be pretty fast…). ↩︎

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