Consent and what each scope means
Leaving a series, leaving the newsletter, and leaving everything are three separate choices.
Most mail services treat unsubscribe as one switch. Someone finishes an onboarding series, clicks unsubscribe to stop that series, and leaves your newsletter forever by accident. Kōlea keeps three separate choices, each with its own scope, so a reader can stop exactly what they want and keep the rest.
The three scopes
| A reader who... | Stops getting | Still gets |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves a series | That one series | The newsletter, other series, receipts |
| Leaves the newsletter | Broadcasts | The series they are in, receipts |
| Leaves everything | Broadcasts and every series | Receipts and downloads for things they buy |
A fourth case is not a choice: an address that hard-bounces or marks your mail as spam is suppressed for all mail, receipts included.
Who can change each one
- Leaving a series is a standing choice. You cannot put that person back in that series by hand, through the API, or with an agent. Only the reader can rejoin, from their preferences page.
- Leaving the newsletter changes their status to Unsubscribed. Sequences they are in carry on.
- Leaving everything ends every series they are in and adds their address to your suppression list. The reader can undo it by subscribing to the newsletter again on their preferences page.
Read the Consent screen
- Open System > Consent.
- The four tiles count the scopes: Left a series (they still get the newsletter), Left the newsletter (series carry on), Left everything (receipts still arrive), and Bounced or complained (suppressed for all mail).
- By series shows how many people stopped each series. A series with a high number here is worth rewriting.
- Recent changes lists the newest choices: when, who, what they chose, and how. "How" names where it happened, such as the preference page, one-click in the mail app, an unsubscribe email, a mail provider report, or a member acting on request. Click an address to open that person.
The Suppressions panel lower on the same screen is covered in Suppressions and bounces.
What happens at send time
Consent is checked again right before each mail goes to the mail provider, not only when a broadcast is scheduled. A broadcast goes only to active people who are not suppressed. A sequence step skips anyone who left that series, left everything, bounced, or complained, but still reaches people who left the newsletter. A blocked mail is recorded as suppressed with the reason. It is never silently dropped.
Things to know
- Leaving the newsletter does not leave a sequence.
- The unsubscribe link in a mail leads with the narrowest choice: a series mail offers to stop just that series.
- One-click unsubscribe in a mail app takes the narrow action too. It never suppresses the address.
- An exit you set on a sequence is not an opt-out. It ends that person's run through the series and changes nothing about what they agreed to. Only the reader ever records a consent choice.