Edits, pausing and switching back on

A chain runs for weeks and people join it at different times: one has just had the first message, another is waiting for the fourth. That is why an edit comes with a separate question — who it applies to.

Editing a chain

Editing opens where you already are: the ⋯ menu on the chain’s card in Bots, or the Edit button on its page (on a phone — the Edit item of the page’s ⋯ menu). The form appears on top of the screen without taking you anywhere.

Editing has no intro step — it starts straight at About the bot, and there are six steps: About the bot, Bot, What starts it, Other chains, Messages, All set. Change the name, the triggers, the messages, the pauses and the conditions, then go through to All set.

“Who the edit applies to”

This field appears on the All set step only when you are editing — on a new chain there is nobody to apply anything to. The label reads “Who the edit applies to”, and the hint below it: “People are already getting messages from this chain. Choose whether the changes apply to them.”

• New people only — “The changes do not affect those who started getting messages before the edit. They get the chain as it was.”
• Everyone — “The changes also apply to those who already started getting messages. Messages they got will not come twice. The next ones come in the new form.”

What people who already get messages will receive

This is about the Everyone option. Take an example: the person got messages 1 and 2 and is waiting for the third.

• You changed message 1 or 2 — nothing changes for them: a message already received never comes twice.
• You changed message 3 or a later one — they get it in its new form.
• You deleted message 2 — the next one is still message 3.
• You deleted message 3 — the next one is message 4.
• You inserted a new message between 1 and 2 — they will not get it: they are already past that spot.
• You inserted a new message between 2 and 3 — they get the new one first, then message 3.
• You changed the pause before message 3 — the pause counts from the moment message 2 went out. If the new pause is shorter than the time that has already passed, message 3 goes out shortly; if it is longer, they wait out the remainder.
• You moved an already received message forward — it does not come a second time.

In one rule: the next message is the first one not yet received after the last one received, and the pause counts from the last send.

The messages’ Conditions play no part in this: they are checked at the moment each message is due — see How a chain behaves.

On and off

The chain’s page has a State row with a toggle: On or Off. In the Bots list a chain that is off is marked “Off”, and you turn it on and off from the ⋯ menu of its card — the Turn on and Turn off items, like any bot.

A chain that is off takes no new users and sends nothing to the people already receiving it. Their messages do not disappear, though: the due time passes and the message waits.

Deleting a chain (the Delete item in the ⋯ menu of its card) stops it for good: it takes no new users, and the people inside receive none of the remaining messages.

If you disconnect the bot account the chain sends with, every chain on that bot is turned off and the people inside are removed from them. After connecting the account again, turn the chains on yourself: they do not start automatically.

Messages that piled up

When you switch the chain back on, we ask what to do with the messages that were waiting while it was paused:

The chain was paused for 3 d. Messages are waiting for 5 people.

• Continue — all messages shift by the length of the pause and go out in order, as if the chain had never stopped.
• Skip what piled up — the backlog is not sent (those messages are marked skipped, “while the bot was off”), the rest go out as planned. A message skipped because of the pause counts as received: the next one still reaches the user.

We cannot decide this quietly for you: either answer can be the right one.

If a payment does not go through

When the subscription runs out, the chain is switched off, like any bot. It does not come back on by itself after payment: you switch it on, and that is when you answer the question about the backlog. That way nobody suddenly receives a week-old pile of messages.

Individual users

Editing a chain is about everyone at once. A single user is handled on their card: skip one message for them, remove them from the chain, or put them back. See The user’s card.