Group Mail System

Factory specification — privacy-first group communication by email — factory.success.build

1. Overview & Design Principles

This is a group communication system where email is the interface. Every action — subscribing, changing settings, booking a meeting — can be done by sending an email. There is no required web login, no app to install, no account to create beyond having an email address.

Core Principles

• Privacy-first. A group can be configured so that no member knows anything about other members beyond a chosen handle (display name). Email addresses are never exposed to other members. Messages are relayed through the system, not forwarded.
• Email-native. Every command is sent as the subject line (or first line of the body) of a plain email to the group's command address. Replies come back as plain email.
• Soft presence. Unsubscribing stops regular group messages but does not remove you from the group. The manager can still reach you for important announcements (meetings, events). Your replies still get delivered. You are a member who has muted the firehose, not someone who has left.
• Groups are real groups. This is not a mailing list in the traditional sense. It is a group of real people with a communication channel. The distinction matters for unsubscribe/mute behavior and for the relationship between members and managers.
• Agent-capable. Any message can be routed to an AI agent for processing, summarization, research, or action. The agent acts on behalf of the sender within the group context.
• Platform-integrated. Groups are managed through Factory (factory.success.build). Group creation, membership, and settings are available via the web UI as well as by email command.

2. Addressing & Email Routing

Each group has a slug — a short identifier set when the group is created (e.g., marketing, board, neighborhood-watch). The slug determines the group's email addresses.

Commands can also be sent by including the command keyword as the first line of the message body when emailing the +cmd address, or as the subject line. If the subject is empty, the first non-blank line of the body is used as the command.

3. Identity, Aliases & Privacy

Display Names & Handles

Every member has a display name visible to other group members. This can be:

• Their real name (default, pulled from their email display name on first message)
• A group-only alias — a name used only within this specific group, invisible to other groups
• A network alias — a handle used across all groups on the platform

Aliases are set via email command and can be changed at any time. In a fully anonymous group, only the alias is ever shown — no email address, no real name, nothing.

Privacy Levels (per group setting)

Identity Commands

4. Member Commands

All commands are sent to {slug}[email protected] as the subject line.

Subscription & Membership

Delivery & Preferences

Information & Discovery

Sending Messages

5. Manager Commands

Manager commands require the sender to be a designated group manager. Sent to the same +cmd address.

Member Management

Message Moderation

Announcements

Group Configuration

6. Delivery Modes & Digest

Each member independently controls how they receive group messages. Preferences are managed via email command or at the Subscription Center (factory.success.build/user/{user}/subscriptions).

7. Group Communication Modes

The manager sets how messages flow. Factory supports granular posting permissions and moderation levels that map to these communication patterns:

Posting Permissions (field_who_can_post)

Moderation Levels (field_moderation_level)

Reply Behavior (field_reply_to)

Member-to-Member Direct Messages

In any mode, if the group allows it, members can send direct messages to other members by handle using reply HANDLE. The system relays the message without exposing either party's email address. This is controlled by the allow-dm setting.

8. Moderation & Bounce Handling

Moderation

• Full moderation: All posts require approval (set moderation all)
• New member moderation: First messages from new members held (set moderation new_members)
• Non-member moderation: Messages from non-members held (set moderation non_members)
• Per-member moderation: Specific members on moderation (mod EMAIL)
• Content filtering: Optional keyword blocklist (set blocklist word1, word2)
• Attachment policy: Allow all, strip all, or allow specific MIME types
• Max message size: Configurable, default 2MB
• Moderation expiry: Held messages expire after 14 days (configurable)

Bounce Handling

• The system tracks delivery failures per member
• After 5 consecutive bounces over 7+ days, delivery is automatically suspended (equivalent to mute)
• Manager is notified of suspended members
• Member receives a "your delivery has been paused" notice to an alternate contact if available
• Manager can manually re-enable with unmute EMAIL
• VERP (Variable Envelope Return Path) is used for precise bounce attribution

9. Unsubscribe, Mute & Soft Presence

This is a key design distinction from traditional mailing lists.

Unsubscribe (soft)

When a member sends unsubscribe:

• Regular group messages stop
• The member is not removed from the group
• The group manager can still send occasional messages (meetings, events) via announce
• If the member replies to a group message (e.g., forwarded by someone, or an announcement), their reply is still delivered to the appropriate recipients
• A notice is sent on every message they send while unsubscribed

Mute

Identical to unsubscribe but with a different semantic intent (temporary silence vs. opting out). Same behavior, same auto-reply. Delivery preference is set to none.

After a muted member sends 3 messages to the group without resubscribing, they receive a shorter notice:

Leave (hard)

The leave command permanently removes the member. Requires confirmation. After leaving, they receive no messages of any kind and must re-subscribe to rejoin.

10. Meeting Booking

Members can propose and book meetings through the group. Meetings are tracked by the system and can generate calendar invites.

11. Agent Commands

Any member can route a message to an AI agent for processing. The agent operates within the group context, respecting privacy settings.

12. Creating a Group

Groups can be created in two ways: by email or through the web interface.

Create by email

1. Send an email to [email protected]
2. The subject line becomes the group name (if available). Alphanumeric and hyphens only, lowercased automatically.
3. The message body becomes the group description that all members see.
4. You become the group manager automatically.

Create via web

1. Log in to factory.success.build
2. Navigate to the group creation form for the desired group type
3. Enter the group name and description
4. The system auto-generates an email slug from the group title (lowercased, hyphenated). You can customize it.
5. Configure initial settings (posting permissions, moderation, reply behavior)
6. Save. The group is immediately active.

What you get back

The system replies with:

Group Types

Factory supports multiple group types, each with email capability. The email slug format is the same across all types: {slug}[email protected].

13. Explain & Help

The help command

Returns a concise list of available commands organized by category, with one-line descriptions. Includes a link to this page for full documentation.

The explain command

Returns a plain-language explanation of how the group works. This is longer than help and is meant for someone who wants to understand the system, not just use it.

14. Full Settings Reference

All settings are changed by the group manager via set SETTING VALUE to the +cmd address, or through the web UI at factory.success.build/group/{group}/settings/mailgroup.

Communication

Privacy & Access

Content & Moderation

Delivery

Features

Platform Administration

These settings are controlled by platform administrators at factory.success.build/admin/config/success-build/mailgroup and affect all groups.

Command channel levels

The command_channel setting controls what members can do via email commands sent to the +cmd address. This is a platform-level control — it applies to all groups and cannot be overridden per group.

15. Message Flow Diagrams

Standard Distribution (all_members posting)

Moderated Distribution

Announcement Pattern (managers_and_owners posting)

16. Reply Message Examples

Subscribe confirmation

Welcome message

Unsubscribe acknowledgment

Manager message (managed mode)

Group Mail System specification — Factory platform — factory.success.build