EMail Parrot

EMail Parrot - Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some commonly asked questions about EMail Parrot

What is EMail Parrot?

In tech speak EMail Parrot is an "anonymizing email reflector". In plain language, it is an email system that acts like an email distribution list, but protects the identities of the members of the list. An email reflector is an email address that received emails and retransmits it to a set of destination email addresses. It is anonymizing due to its ability to remove the sender's email address from the email headers.

What is the value of an Anonymizing Email Reflector?

An anonymizing email reflector product can offer several marketable advantages to its users. Here are some examples:

1. Enhanced privacy and confidentiality: Anonymizing Email Reflectors can protect the privacy and confidentiality of email conversations by hiding the email addresses of the participants. This can be particularly important for sensitive topics or confidential information.
2. Improved security: Anonymizing Email Reflectors can add an extra layer of security to email communications, as they can prevent spam, phishing, and other types of email fraud. This can help to protect individuals and organizations from cyber threats.
3. Simplified communication: Anonymizing Email Reflectors can simplify communication by enabling users to send a single email to a group of recipients without having to manually enter each email address. This can save time and reduce the risk of errors.
4. Customizable settings: Anonymizing Email Reflectors can offer customizable settings that allow users to control who can send and receive emails, who can access the email archive, and how often emails are delivered. This can provide flexibility and control over email communication.
5. Cost-effective: Anonymizing Email Reflectors can be a cost-effective alternative to traditional email services, as they can be low cost. This can be particularly appealing to small businesses, non-profit organizations, and community groups that have limited resources.

Overall, the marketable advantages of an anonymizing email reflector can make it an attractive option for individuals and organizations that value privacy, security, simplicity, control, and cost-effectiveness in their email communication.

How does EMail Parrot protect users?

1. Only members of the group can send emails to the group. If you are not a member, your email won't go through.
2. The sender's email address is removed from the headers of the email itself. No members will see your email address. Only the distribution list administrator will have your email address as they set up the list. NOTE: While email addresses are removed from the email headers, they are not removed from the body of the email - If you have your email address in the body of an email or in your signature it will be seen by the recipients of your email.
3. Potentially malicious attachments are removed from emails. Attachment types such as .EXE or .BAT files will be removed from emails.
4. Tracking pixels and other external content used to track people on the internet are removed by default. This feature can be disabled if it is desired.
5. Emails larger than 1MB (default setting, configurable up to 10MB) are quarantined by the system. EMail Parrot is intended for communications and coordination of groups. Distribution of large content files to large groups many people is generally considered impolite.
6. Emails won’t be accepted (configurable setting) if the EMail Parrot address is not in the TO: list of the email. No CC or BCC address of an EMail Parrot distribution list will be allowed. BCC and CC addressing is a common approach of phishers and spammers.
7. EMail Parrot is based on Amazon Web Services Simple Email Service which provides built-in protections for SPAM, viruses, and untrustworthy senders.

How will people know who sent an email if the sender's header information is removed?

EMail Parrot adds a header to the body of distributed emails which identifies the sender - a pseudonym. This identifier is defined by the distribution list administrator. It can be any text string such as the person's full name, first name plus initial, nickname, player's jersey number, or any other text that will let the recipients know who the sender is.

How private is my email address with EMail Parrot?

EMail Parrot and Weiner Advanced Development LLC are committed to personal privacy and will never sell or distribute anyone's email address for any reason. The email addresses provided to EMail Parrot by list administrators are used solely for the purposes of distributing group emails to the intended list members. EMail Parrot will not contact list members for the purpose of solicitation but does reserve the right to contact list members for the purpose of resolving any email communication issues that arise. EMail Parrot's mission is to protect email addresses and reduce undesired email solicitations.

Can EMail Parrot see the contents of my emails?

As an email transport service EMail Parrot computer systems have access to the contents of emails in order to process the mail. If the email contents are not encrypted then the EMail Parrot system and administrators can see the contents of email. This is needed to add message headers indicating who sent an email as well as filter out dangerous attachment types. While the EMail Parrot systems are automated and gather no content information when operating, EMail Parrot administrators reserve the right to review email contents for the purposes of diagnosing any system or communications issues or as instructed by government warrent. No content moderation beyond attachment type is performed by EMail Parrot and content guidelines should be adopted by the list administrators and members Enforcement is the responsibility of the list administrator(s). For these reasons communications on EMail Parrot should be treated as private but discoverable. EMail Parrot reserves the right to discontinue any email list that is found to be breaching generally acceptable legal and ethical bounaries.

How long are emails stored on EMail Parrot servers?

When operating normally emails sent to EMail Parrot are processed once and sent to the distribution list. A copy of the received email is stored on the servers for 30 days in case any delivery issues. This facilitates the diagnosis and repair of any issues in the system.

Optionally a list administrator can select for received emails to be deleted upon successful processing and delivery through the system. Removing processed emails from our storage can give a heightened sense of privacy but reprocessing of emails will not be possible. Quarantined emails will still be stored on the servers for 30 days or until a list administrator takes a quarantined email action.

If legally required EMail Parrot will preserve any emails required by court order for longer than 30 days.

What information is needed to set up a distribution list?

1. The email addresses for all members.
2. Pseudonyms for each member.
3. The name of the email list (name@emparrot.com) and the identifying text of the list ("My Distribution List").
4. A valid credit card to be entered on the Strip.com site when prompted. (Credit card entry can be delayed for the 30 day trial period.)
5. Which members of the distribution list are administrators (receives list use errors and moderated user approvals). The creating person is the group "owner" and a default list administrator.

Can I use my domain with EMail Parrot?

Yes. EMail Parrot can be configured to operate groups at a subdomain of your domain. For example if you own xyz.org and currently receive emails at this domain (joe@xyz.org), EMail Parrot can be configured to operate under a subdomain (emp.xyz.org or groups.xyz.org). Then email distribution list(s) will be under this subdomain (dist_list@emp.xyz.org). This ensures that currently existing email addresses at your domain remain valid while EMail Parrot distribution addresses can coexist at the subdomain.

This integration enhances the professional appearance of the organization's emails, reinforcing brand identity and building trust with members. It allows organizations to maintain full control over their communication channels while using EMail Parrot's dynamic group communication features. Users will interact with your familiar, trusted domain, improving engagement and maintaining consistency with other communications.

An additional per month charge of $1/month will apply for the upkeep of the subdomain. Any number distribution lists can be supported at your subdomain with the standard distribuion list charges being applied per email list. Only a single charge of $1/month for the subdomain will be applied no matter how many email lists are hosted under a subdomain.

Configuring EMail Parrot to run under your domain requires a record be added to your DNS server for the subdomain. An IT support case can be launch to guide you through this process by emailing info@emparrot.com.

Any web requests made to this subdomain will automatically be redirected to the parent domain. https://emp.xyz.org will redirect to https://xyz.org. In this way web requests made to EMail Parrot subdomain, for whatever reason, won't lead to web errors.

Should I have multiple email lists or use sublists?

The primary factor when deciding if you should create multiple email lists or a single email list with multiple sublists is communication boundaries. Any member of an email list can communicate with all other members - either through a direct email message or emailing the entire list. If there are distinct memberships or topics or communication that shouldn't intermingle then multiple email lists are advised.

Some other factors to consider when making this decision:

• There is no nesting of sublists (no sublists of sublists). There is more flexibility with multiple email lists.
• Each email distribution list costs $5/month. Sublists are cheaper.
• Multiple email lists have distinct uses and separate administrator rosters, email list configurations, and user configurations.
• A single email distribution list create greater reach for blast-o-gram emails.



How is EMail Parrot superior to BCC?

Using BCC to email a group is fine for 1-to-many communications when the original sender’s email address is suitable for wide visibility. The BCC recipients of the email can only reply to the original sender and not other recipients on the BCC list. BCC communication is prone to error, one email sent to the group on the To: or CC: line exposes everyone's information.

EMail Parrot allows for group replies while also protecting group members.




What size organizations can benefit from EMail Parrot?

Any size group can use EMail Parrot and there are no restrictions in the tool. Usually small groups (5 to 10) who trust everyone and know that they won't likely be hacked are satisfied with standard email. Very large groups with thousands of members will likely find that email is not a good medium as the traffic of emails from this number of members, frequently interacting, becomes too much. Groups that want to communicate by email but not give everyone their email information will benefit from EMail Parrot. Group size into a major concern, exposure of your information is. If email is the medium of choice for your group and privacy and security are of concern then EMail Parrot is the right tool for you.