# Confused by Error Message From Reply-by-Email
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/confused-by-error-message-from-reply-by-email/139841
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [January 27, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/confused-by-error-message-from-reply-by-email/139841 "2020-01-27T15:35:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@adrelanos](https://meta.discourse.org/u/adrelanos)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2020, 5:07pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/confused-by-error-message-from-reply-by-email/139841/22 "2020-06-02T17:07:22Z")
> [@hartz](#):
>
> The message I receive in that case has the subject line **Email issue – Unknown To: Address** , and the body looks like:
>
> _We’re sorry, but your email message to [“SNIP”] (titled Re: Help Please) didn’t work._
>
> _None of the destination email addresses are recognized, or the Message-ID header in the email has been modified. Please make sure that you are sending to the correct email address provided by staff._
I was also getting such an e-mail (for a forum where I am admin).
Rejected incoming e-mails do not show up under `admin/email/rejected`. Could you add them there please? That would at least help with investigation.
Also the error message is confusing.
Recipient e-mail address `discoursereplies+snip@domain.org` equaled body of rejection e-mail notification by discourse `["discoursereplies+snip@domain.org"]`. Message ID was probably correct too (hard to check), just the from address was wrong.
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> Then you should be advocating for movement on the multiple email address setup per user, scroll up and do some reading perhaps?
> [@ChrisBeach](#):
>
> Unfortunately I don’t know if the proposed feature would solve the problem experienced on my Discourse instance.
No, it wouldn’t have fixed my issue too.
In my case I did send from a different e-mail address (different SMTP server). My e-mail program Thunderbird apparently has a bug to sometimes confuse the sender SMTP e-mail address when using multiple SMTP servers.
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/confused-by-error-message-from-reply-by-email/139841/23 "2020-06-02T20:12:47Z")
> [@adrelanos](#):
>
> In my case I did send from a different e-mail address
That sounds correct, per the response message
> None of the destination email addresses are recognized
---
### Author:  [@Mevo](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Mevo)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/confused-by-error-message-from-reply-by-email/139841/24 "2020-06-02T21:43:31Z")
I’ve read the entire topic and from an exterior POV, you seem to miss the point they are trying to make here. It’s like getting out of your apartment and having a warning when you close the door, because you didn’t turn the lights off. But the message actually tells you you left a window open (when it is NOT the case. Lights should indeed be turned off, though).
They understand WHY the message is sent, and what the underlying “problem” is (agreeing with it being a problem or not, like mentioned above, is another subject). But the message seems to tell something different than what it actually is. At least, it will probably give this impression to most users.
I guess it must be a different way of thinking and seeing things, which is the matter here. It must make sense to you, Jeff, because you think from a “Discourse POV”: It is an unknown “TO:” or “recipient” address… than **where discourse sent the initial email to**. Whereas users (me included) are thinking from their “answer email POV”: They sent TO the correct address, but FROM a different address. They don’t understand why they are getting an error saying something different from what they have in mind.
---
### Author:  [@JimPas](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JimPas)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/confused-by-error-message-from-reply-by-email/139841/25 "2020-06-02T22:19:24Z")
Think of it this way. Discourse calls your house phone which is the number you have set up with it. You call it back from your cellphone… which is unknown to Discourse. Thus, Discourse doesn’t answer because it doesn’t know who you are. (It screens its calls. :slightly_smiling_face:) That’s why they’re saying multiple email addresses should be advocated for.
---
### Author:  [@adrelanos](https://meta.discourse.org/u/adrelanos)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2020, 9:01am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/confused-by-error-message-from-reply-by-email/139841/26 "2020-06-03T09:01:27Z")
Jeff Atwood via Discourse Meta:
> > [@adrelanos](#):
> >
> > In my case I did send from a different e-mail address
>
> That sounds correct, per the response message
>
> > None of the destination email addresses are recognized
My brain parsed that as “you used the wrong `TO:`” address. Could you
please consider improving the wording of that?
That e-mail is sent back to users. From perspective of users the
“destination” is the destination e-mail (`TO:` address) which the user
has sent to (recipient). From perspective of discourse it’s the wrong
`From:` address.
May I suggest the following wording draft:
> We’re sorry, but your email message to
> [“[discoursereplies+snip-id@domain.org](mailto:discoursereplies+snip-id@domain.org)”] (titled Re: snip title) didn’t work.
>
> Possible causes:
>
> - Do you use more than one e-mail address? Did you accidentally send
> from the wrong e-mail address? Replies by e-mail require to send from
> the very same e-mail address(s) that you signed up for $site.
> - The Message-ID header in the email has been modified.
> - Please make sure that you are sending to the correct email address
> provided by $site.
---
### Author:  [@Mevo](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Mevo)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2020, 11:19am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/confused-by-error-message-from-reply-by-email/139841/27 "2020-06-03T11:19:20Z")
> [@JimPas](#):
>
> Discourse doesn’t answer because it doesn’t know who you are
Sure, Jim. Your analogy is great and on point. The thing here is that Discourse is answering with an error message. But it is not saying “I don’t know that number you are calling me from”. It’s saying instead “you’ve called a wrong number”. Which is confusing some people as they did call the correct number … but using the wrong phone. You’re right on that. The point is the error message which is confusing.
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2020, 2:59am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/confused-by-error-message-from-reply-by-email/139841/28 "2020-06-04T02:59:47Z")
Sure, that’s a good idea. I changed the message from
> None of the destination email addresses are recognized, or the Message-ID header in the email has been modified. Please make sure that you are sending to the correct email address provided by staff.
to
> Do you use more than one email address? Did you reply from a different email address? Email replies require that you use the same email address when replying. Alternately, the Message-ID header in the email may have been modified.
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