How BackOps Routes Event Email to the Right Event

When a message arrives, BackOps asks one question: which event is this about? It answers by checking a short list of signals in a fixed order and stopping at the first one that decides. Knowing the order explains why a message landed where it did, and what to change when it did not.

The Order BackOps Checks

flowchart TD
    M["New message"] --> A{"Sent to an event address?"}
    A -->|"Yes"| E(["Filed to that event"])
    A -->|"No"| F{"Folder mapped to an event?"}
    F -->|"Yes"| E
    F -->|"No"| C{"Participant matches a contact?"}
    C -->|"One event"| E
    C -->|"Several events"| T(["Needs triage"])
    C -->|"None"| D(["Discarded"])

1. The event address. A message sent or copied to an event's own address goes straight to that event. No matching happens. This is the only way mail reaches an event without a connected mailbox.

2. A folder mapping. For a connected mailbox, if you mapped the folder a message sits in to an event, it goes to that event. A folder mapping beats contact matching, so it is the strongest signal you can give.

3. A contact match. BackOps compares the sender, the To line, and the Cc line against the email addresses of crew contacts on your events. One matching event files the message there and tags it with the matching person's collaborator. Several matching events send the message to Needs triage.

4. No match. The message is discarded. Nothing is stored, so mail that has nothing to do with an event never lands in BackOps.

Why Contact Matching Only Looks at Your Events

A match only counts for events you are a member of. A vendor who is crew on someone else's event does not pull your mail into that event.

When a Message Lands in the Wrong Place

If mail you wanted is missing, check whether the sender or recipients are saved as contacts on the event, or map the folder the message sits in. If a message is waiting under Needs triage, choose its event. The diagram leaves out connection status: a mailbox that needs to be reauthorized is not read at all, so see connecting a mailbox.