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Getting StartedHome → Admin Manual → In-depth: Admin Settings → New Request Loop Protection
10.13. New Request Loop Protection
HelpSpot will attempt to prevent email loops with other systems based on the rules defined in Admin > Settings > Email Integration > New Request Loop Protection.
TL;DR;
- Two of the three rules in New Request Loop Protection work in concert to stop email loops, and the third rule works independently to prevent duplicate looping.
- Time Period and Max emails in time period are engaged if one email address sends more than the defined Max number of emails within the defined Time Period.
- Duplicate Check compares the subject and body content of incoming emails for exact duplicates within the defined time period (in seconds).
- Trigger-based Auto-Replies are a special-case, customizable option which allow adding extra conditions to enhance functionality.
Time Period and Max emails in time period work together, disabling the mailbox-level auto-reply feature if one email address sends more than the defined Max number of emails within the defined Time Period. This feature only compares inbound email from the same email address over the defined Time Period, without considering the content of the email body or subject.
The mailbox-level auto-reply feature generates new requests for each new email received and sends your configured auto-reply notification back to the sender with their new Request ID appended to the subject line. Any subsequent replies to that notification email contain the Request ID in the subject and are added to the same request rather than generating additional new-request notifications.
So with the settings depicted above, four individual emails from one sender address within an hour would generate four separate new requests and four new request notifications. The fifth individual email from the same sender within one hour would engage the loop protection feature, and a fifth new request would not be generated. This also means they would not receive a fifth new request notification. If they sent the fifth request an hour and a half after the first, it would fall outside of the defined time period and generate a new request and corresponding notification auto-reply as usual.
The Duplicate Check works independently of the other two settings, comparing the subject and body content of incoming emails for exact duplicates within the defined time period (in seconds). Incoming emails are monitored over the defined time period and any with identical subject lines and body contents trigger duplicate protection and prevent new, duplicate requests from being generated.
With the settings depicted above, two duplicate emails received within 600 seconds (i.e., 10 minutes) would trigger the duplicate check and prevent a second, duplicate request from being created. However, two duplicate emails received eleven minutes apart would fall outside the defined time period, and a second, duplicate request would be generated.
It is important to note that emails generated by other automated systems which contain timestamps in the subject line or body may result in non-identical subject/body contents which result in HelpSpot's duplicate check conditions not being met. This is one of the conditions we commonly check for in figuring out how some emails circumvent the duplicate check loop protection.
The New Request Loop Protection settings on the Email Integration page target specific conditions to reduce the likelihood of false positives which could prevent legitimate, similar incoming emails from generating appropriate requests. Because of the chances of other automated systems sending emails which inadvertently fall outside of the Loop Prevention definitions, some HelpSpot customers have also elected to disable the mailbox-level auto-reply functionality and instead opt to utilize trigger-level auto-replies.