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Remembering all the email address you need to send to is difficult at best. Distribution lists are the way to go to ensure you’re getting the message out to everybody. Scout Manager provides both system managed and custom distribution lists and used the same way. Distribution lists can be used for all communication methods such as emails, text messages and event invites.
Remembering all the email address you need to send to is difficult at best. Distribution lists are the way to go to ensure you’re getting the message out to everybody. Scout Manager provides two types of distribution lists:
Distribution lists can be used for all communication methods such as emails, text messages and event invites. They are found in Scout Manager within the Communication section. You can discover who is on a distribution list by expanding it.
These distribution lists provide a quick and convenient way to send messages to groups that you’re already managing internally such as Dens, Patrols, Leaders, etc. The system distribution lists are automatically updated as users move within Scout Manager. These distribution lists are based on roles that have been assigned to each person in your unit. See User Security for information about roles. For example, as leaders are added/removed or change roles within your unit the distribution lists they belong to will automatically update. Similarly, as scouts are added/removed or moves to another Den/Patrol the distribution lists are automatically updated to reflect the change.
The system managed distribution lists are:
| Distribution list name | Description |
|---|---|
| Parents | just the parents. |
| Scouts | just the scouts. |
| Adults | every adult. |
| Adults and Scouts | everyone in your unit. |
| Leaders | every person assigned a unit leadership role |
| Award Coordinators | people assigned the award coordinator role |
| Committee Members | people assigned the committee member role |
| Treasurers | people assigned the treasurer role |
There are also managed distribution lists for Patrols & Dens which includes the members of those patrols/dens, their leaders and scout parents.
Distribution lists can be used for all communication methods such as emails, text messages and event invites. When composing an email or calendar invite try typing "Pack" (or “Troop”) -- it will auto-filter and show the system distribution lists. Select the one you want. You can add as many as needed and mix with individual users if needed.
If you want to know who is on a distribution list access the menu option Communication -> Distribution Lists. Click the distribution list to expand it into a list of recipients.
LAUNCH: Summer 2020
Premium subscribers can send emails to Scout Manager distribution lists from external email clients such as Outlook, Gmail, etc.
You must first enable this capability by setting up a distribution list keyword in the unit settings. The keyword must be unique and at least 6 characters long. It can only be configured by a unit leader and can be changed at any time as needed.
To use this feature you must be a registered user with a verified email address.
To use the distribution lists from an external client you combine the keyword with the name of the distribution list, using all lowercase and replacing spaces with dashes ("-"). For example, if your unit's keyword is mazama you can send an email to the following.
| Distribution list name | Distribution list Part | External email address |
|---|---|---|
| Parents | parents | mazama-parents@scoutmanager.com |
| Scouts | scouts | mazama-scouts@scoutmanager.com |
| Adults | adults | mazama-adults@scoutmanager.com |
| Adults and Scouts | adults-and-scouts | mazama-adults-and-scouts@scoutmanager.com |
| Leaders | leaders | mazama-leaders@scoutmanager.com |
Scout Manager applies a series of security controls to ensure the distribution lists are not abused by bad actors outside your unit. Scout Manager applies a series of security controls will only accept distribution list emails from validated email-addresses registered on Scout Manager. What this means specifically is:
Emails to distribution lists that fail any of the checks above will not not be forwarded. If your email address is recognized Scout Manager will send a failure notification with information to help you diagnose and understand how to resolve the issue.
Emails received from unrecognized email addresses will be deleted rather than bounced back to the sender.
In addition, incoming emails must pass a DKIM check and other email security best practices. DKIM is used to help avoid email spoofing. Most email providers provide DKIM automatically which ensures the email being sent is coming from the domain it says its from. Emails failing DKIM are assumed to be SPAM and are deleted. If the sending email-address is recognized (registered in Scout Manager) we'll send a decline email explaining the reason.
Emails to distribution lists that fail any of the checks above will not not be forwarded. Scout Manager will send a delivery failure notification with information to help you diagnose and understand how to resolve the issue.