Email and Community Updates

Essential administration of RC42 email, Google services, and subscriber notifications

RC42 uses two email addresses for different purposes:

Address Main purpose
isa-rc42@isa-sociology.org Official public contact address for RC42.
isarc42.community@gmail.com Google administration account and sender of automated Community Updates.

RC42 Google administration account

The main Google account used for website administration is:

isarc42.community@gmail.com

This account is used to access the Google services connected to the website, including:

  • Google Drive;
  • Google Sheets;
  • Google Forms;
  • ISA RC42 Newsletter Database;
  • ISA RC42 Community Submissions;
  • the RC42 Community Updates Apps Script project.

It is also the address used to send automated subscription confirmations and Community Updates.

ImportantKeep this account available

Do not delete or replace isarc42.community@gmail.com without first transferring the Google files, Forms, Apps Script project, and automated processes connected to it.

Community Updates

Visitors can subscribe through the website to receive notifications when new Community Contributions are published.

The process is:

Website subscription
        ↓
ISA RC42 Newsletter Database
status: pending
        ↓
Confirmation email
from isarc42.community@gmail.com
        ↓
Subscriber confirms
status: active
        ↓
New Community Contribution is published
        ↓
Community Update email

The main subscription statuses are:

Status Meaning
pending Subscription received but not yet confirmed.
active Confirmed subscriber who can receive Community Updates.
unsubscribed Subscriber has opted out.

Newsletter Database

The ISA RC42 Newsletter Database contains the subscriber information used by Community Updates.

The main tabs are:

  • Subscribers — subscriber names, affiliations, email addresses, and status.
  • Sent Publications — records which publications have already generated an email.
  • Deliveries — delivery and execution records used for checking the system.

To review a subscriber:

  1. Sign in to isarc42.community@gmail.com.
  2. Open ISA RC42 Newsletter Database in Google Drive.
  3. Select Subscribers.
  4. Search for the email address.
  5. Check the Status field.

If someone asks to unsubscribe manually, change their status to unsubscribed and keep the row in the spreadsheet.

Checking the email automation

Google Apps Script runs the Community Updates automation.

Routine administrators do not need to edit the script.

If emails are not being sent:

  1. Sign in to isarc42.community@gmail.com.
  2. Open Google Apps Script.
  3. Open the RC42 Community Updates project.
  4. Select Executions.
  5. Check whether the latest execution is Completed or Failed.

If executions fail repeatedly, contact the technical administrator.

Cloudflare

Cloudflare supports the isa-rc42.org domain and website infrastructure. Routine administrators normally do not need to change its configuration.

Cloudflare is separate from the Google account, Newsletter Database, and Community Updates email system.

Privacy

The Newsletter Database contains personal information, including names and email addresses.

Do not:

  • upload subscriber information to GitHub;
  • include subscriber data in public documentation or screenshots;
  • use subscriber addresses for purposes unrelated to RC42 communications.

Access should be limited to people responsible for RC42 administration.

Executive board handover

When the RC42 board changes, confirm that the incoming administrators have access to:

  • isa-rc42@isa-sociology.org;
  • isarc42.community@gmail.com;
  • the RC42 Google Drive files;
  • ISA RC42 Newsletter Database;
  • ISA RC42 Community Submissions;
  • the RC42 Community Updates Apps Script project.

Recovery information should be transferred securely, and access for outgoing administrators should be removed when no longer needed.

Passwords, recovery codes, API tokens, and other credentials must not be stored in this guide.