Instructions for users of Handbill
who are using their email client
instead of the Handbill app
Somebody you know uses an app called Handbill to share photos and news with a few people.
Everything reaches you as ordinary email from them. You can use your regular email inbox to interact with them.
You do not need the app, an account, or a website.
Quick start
Opt in or opt out. The first email (where you probably found the link to this page) asks whether you want their posts, and which topics. To opt out, tap No Thanks and send the resulting email that pops up.
To opt in, tap “Yes, send them” and then send the resulting email that pops up.
Before clicking “Yes”, you can take a look at the topics they are offering to share with you. If you don’t want to hear about certain topics, you can delete the line for that topic before sending. For instance, if you don’t want to be sent anything about their family or kids, delete the line #family-kids before sending. You can always opt out of topics later.
If you opted in, you will start receiving content from them once they start sending it. If you want to stop receiving these emails at any time, click the link at the bottom of the message labeled “Silence all handbills from [ your friend ]” and send the resulting email.
Things you can do (if you feel like it)
Read. You will receive emails labeled “Updates from [ your friend ]" showing new posts and/or updated conversations.
Like things. Tap the heart under a post and send the email that opens. There is nothing to type. This will give your friend feedback on what types of content people like to see.
Comment. Hit your email program’s Reply button and type as you would on any other email. Or tap the Comment button under a post and type in the message box. Either way, type in the email message body, not in the subject line.
Silence a conversation. Clicking Silence under a post (and sending the email it opens) mutes that one conversation.
Silence your friend completely. Below the Like/Comment/Silence buttons, there is a block of text that reads “Silence all handbills from [your friend ]. Click that and send the resulting email. All handbill messages from that friend will stop.
Slow down the updates. At the bottom of each update, there is text offering to set the frequency of email updates to 15 minutes, 3 hours, or once a day. Click whichever you prefer and send the resulting email.
Request a menu of options. The options shown below (#8-#10) can be accessed after used by clicking “Request a menu of all my options” (located below the Like/Comment/Silence buttons). Send the resulting email, and after a little while you will receive a response with a bunch of options. This might take a while depending on how often your friend launches their app.
Silence a topic. Follow the instructions in the menu email to silence a single (or multiple) topics. (See #7 above labeled “Request a menu”)
Resume a topic. Follow the instructions in the menu email to resume a single (or multiple) topics. (See #7 above labeled “Request a menu”)
Share your name with others in the conversation. Menu emails have a button labeled “Share my name in message digests”. Click on that and send the resulting email in order to make your name visible to other people in conversations. (See #7 above labeled “Request a menu”)
That is all of it. The rest of this page is for when something looks odd.
How it works, briefly
Your friend's phone does the work. There is no server. Your replies and taps are handled the next time they open the app, so a confirmation can take a little while.
Comments reach the other people in a conversation through your friend, in their next update letter. A new post comes at once; a comment waits for the next letter, at most one every three hours unless you choose otherwise.
Other readers see your words but not your name or your email address. You appear as "Anonymous" unless you choose to share your name. Your friend, the person in the middle, always knows who wrote what.
Photos attached to a reply show up in the conversation.
If a handbill contains multiple conversations, then clicking “Reply” will add your comment to the conversation at the top. To comment on another conversation in the same handbill, use the Comment button under that one.
Troubleshooting
I got an email saying my comment didn't come through. Your reply arrived with nothing in it. Nearly always this means the words went into the subject line instead of the message. Reply to that email and type your comment in the message; it goes straight into the conversation.
I replied and nothing happened. Two things to check. First, your friend has to open the app for anything to be handled, so give it a while; it is mail, not chat. Second, look at the subject line: keep the [handbill] tag that was already there. If you deleted it, the app cannot find your mail. Reply again without editing the subject.
I tapped Yes and never heard anything. Tapping Yes only opens a reply. It has to be sent. Look in your Drafts folder for an email with the subject "[handbill] Yes" and send it. If it was sent, give your friend time to open the app; you will get a short "You're in" note back.
I get too much mail. Every letter has three links at the bottom: every 15 minutes, every 3 hours, once a day. Tap the one you want. Or use "Silence all handbills from their name" to stop everything, or the options menu to stop one topic at a time.
I stopped a topic and want it back. The confirmation you got has a button to turn it back on. So does the options menu: tap "Request a menu of all my options" under any post.
I tapped Like and an email opened. Is that right? Yes. Sending that email is the like. It reads "I like this!" and carries a small code that tells the app which post you meant. Send it as it is.
My mail app asks to send something when I tap a button. Every button opens an ordinary email addressed to your friend. Sending it is the action. Nothing is sent without you pressing Send.
I want other people to see my name on my comments. Tap "Request a menu of all my options" and then "Share my name in message digests" at the top of the links. You can hide it again the same way.
A letter came from my friend's address but it doesn't look like them. That is the app. Letters are assembled by your friend's phone from what people in the conversation wrote, and sent from their own email account. The "Shared with Handbill" line at the bottom is how to tell.
I never want any of this. Tap "Silence all handbills from their name" under any post, or just tell your friend. Nothing else happens; you stay in touch the way you always were.
What this is not
There is no website to log into, no account, no app on your phone, no advertising, and no company reading your mail. The emails come from your friend's own email address and go to yours. Handbill is free software for the friend who installed it, and nothing for you.