Unsubscribes and opt-outs: what happens when a member says stop

Every newsletter and reminder has an unsubscribe link in its footer. It is also behind the Unsubscribe button some mail programs show beside the sender's name.

What the link does

Opening the link shows a page that asks. This is on purpose: mail scanners open every link in a message, and an unsubscribe must never be a side effect of a scanner. The member presses the button, and that one press unsubscribes them. No sign-in or cookie is needed. A mail program's own Unsubscribe button sends the same one-click request straight away.

After that:

• they are left out of every group of every newsletter, including "All members" and "Overdue",
• they get no dues reminders and no essential notices,
• they still get messages about their own account that they asked for: a receipt for a payment they made, or a link they requested.

The first unsubscribe is written to the audit log with how it happened (the mail program's button or the page). Pressing it again changes nothing.

Unsubscribed is different from "not on the list"

A member who is opted out has not agreed to the newsletter, for example because their file said no, but they are still a club member who an essential notice can reach. A member who has unsubscribed has told you to stop all club email, and no kind of message reaches them.

A re-import cannot undo it

Importing a file that says yes for someone who unsubscribed does not switch them back on. A consent can only be given again by the member, or recorded by an officer on the Privacy page with a note saying how it was given.

Which one is this member?

Open their page. The Newsletter tile says "opted in", "opted out" or "unsubscribed", and the line below says where the choice came from.

What a complaint is

If a member reports a message as spam instead, they are switched off for every club. You cannot change it. See email health.