Messages we send

Messages a client receives

Sent because of a booking they made or a sign-in they asked for. Every one of them except the sign-in link carries the name of the instructor it is about, because that is the person the reader recognises. A sign-in link is this product's own business with the reader and names nobody else.

A sign-in link

A one-time link to the address it was asked for, which is how signing in works here. There are no passwords, so this is the only message that has to arrive. It is also how a waiver is signed: a booking's page sends one to the address the booking was made under, and opening it brings the person back to sign.

A sign-in link that connects an assistant

The same one-time link, asked for while an instructor connects their own AI assistant, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini. It names the assistant being connected and says that nothing connects without the reader’s own press, so somebody who did not start a connection knows to ignore it.

A booking is confirmed

What was booked, when and where it starts, how many seats, and what was paid. Sent once the payment processor confirms the payment rather than when the browser returns from checkout — or, for a lesson paid with credits or free of charge, once everybody on it has signed the waiver.

A session is coming up

A reminder the day before, once per booking, with the meeting point and anything the instructor said to bring.

A session is cancelled

Which session, the reason where the instructor gave one, and what came back — money to the card, credits to the balance, or both.

A booking is cancelled

One person taken off a lesson that still goes ahead for everybody else, and what came back: money to the card, credits to the balance, or both.

A booking moved

Where the booking is now and where it was, and what the difference in price came to — paid, refunded to the card, or nothing. Sent for every move, whoever made it, to the address the booking was made under.

A move could not be made

Where the difference for a dearer time was paid and the move could no longer be made when the payment arrived — the time filled or started, or the booking changed in the meantime: the booking stays where it was, and the payment is on its way back.

A move was withdrawn

Where somebody asked to move to a dearer time and the instructor moved that time, or called it off, before the difference was paid: where the time went or that it was called off, that the booking stays where it was and nothing was charged, and, where a payment page was opened, that it is being closed and a payment reaching it comes back in full.

A session is called off and another time is held

Sent in place of the cancellation message where the instructor offers a later time instead: what was called off, the time held, until when it is held, and what declining returns — and, where the booking was waiting on somebody's own move to a dearer time, that the request was withdrawn and nothing was charged.

A held time ended

Where nobody took or declined that time before it stopped being held, or the instructor called the held time off too: the booking is cancelled, and the message says what came back.

A seat opened

For somebody waiting on a full session. The seat is held rather than booked, and the message says until when.

A refund or a credit was returned

What went back and where it went. Sent when the money has actually moved rather than when it was decided.

A signed waiver

A record of what was signed, the names it was signed for, and when, with a link to the signed waiver.

A request was declined

Where somebody asked for a time the instructor will not teach. It names what was asked for so the reader knows which request it answers.

A request was answered with different terms

Where the instructor offered a different price. Both figures are in the message and it says when the offer stops being answerable.

A request was accepted

Where the instructor agreed to what was asked. The seat is held rather than booked and nothing has been charged; the message says until when, and the link goes to the booking's page, where the waiver is signed and the seat paid for.

A lesson pack was bought

How many lessons it holds and when they expire, if they do, sent once the payment is confirmed. For a pack bought as a gift, the buyer is told whom it went to and the terms it carries.

A lesson pack was given to you

Sent to the person a pack was bought for, once the payment is confirmed: who bought it, the lessons it holds and who they are with, any message sent with it, and its terms — the lessons never expire and carry no fees. It names no price. One buyer's gifts send at most 10 of these a day, and one address is sent at most 3 a day.

A gift's lessons were taken back

Sent to the person a pack was given to where the payment for it was refunded or reversed, saying how many unused lessons were removed. Lessons already taken are not affected.

Lessons are about to expire

Unused lessons from a pack, how many are left and the date after which they cannot be used, with a link to book one.

A card was saved

A card saved with an instructor is on file: its brand, its last four digits and its expiry, and what it may be charged for — only something agreed to separately. Where it replaced an earlier card, that card is no longer on file.

A membership started

Sent once the first month is paid: the monthly price, how many visits a month includes, when the paid month ends and whether it renews then, and where the membership is paused and cancelled.

A membership changed

Sent when a membership changed in a way its member did not just watch happen on a screen: paused or resumed, set to end, ended, or a month's payment given back — which removes that month's unused visits and cancels the lessons it paid for that had not started. Where a change the member asked for has not taken effect yet, the message says which.

A membership renewal did not go through

The card was refused for a month's renewal. Stripe tries again on the instructor's own schedule; the new month's visits arrive once it is paid, and the message links to where a new card is saved.

A late-cancel or no-show fee

Sent when a fee arises under the terms the lesson was sold under, when it is charged, if the card refuses it, and if it is withdrawn — waived by the instructor, or no longer owed because an absence was corrected. Each names the lesson and the card by its last four digits, and says when the fee is charged.

A lesson was made weekly

The weekday and time, how many weeks were booked straight away, and how each week is paid for: a membership visit, credits, or, where the client allowed it, the card named, never above the price shown.

A weekly lesson did not go ahead

One week of a weekly booking was not booked or paid for, with the reason: the session was full, the schedule changed, the card was refused or removed, nothing could pay for it, the waiver needs signing again, or the price rose above what was agreed.

A weekly lesson changed

The instructor's schedule change moved one week not yet paid for — its place, its length or its size — and the message shows the week as it now stands.

A weekly booking needs a signature

The instructor's waiver changed, so the weekly booking waits for its client to sign the new version on any one of its weeks. Weeks keep their seats, and none is paid for until then.

A weekly booking stopped

The instructor ended it, or their schedule no longer has its weekday and hour. Weeks already paid for stay booked.

A note from an instructor

An instructor can write to somebody who has come to their lessons and stopped: a short note in the instructor's own words, which they read and send themselves, one person at a time. It is from them via Palaestral, says it is promotional, prints their postal address and carries an unsubscribe link; replies go to the instructor. One instructor writes to one person at most once every 45 days, and nobody on Palaestral sends one address more than one such note every 14 days.

An instructor moved to Palaestral

An instructor who brings their client list to Palaestral can ask for the people in it to be told, once each: that the instructor takes bookings here, and what lessons the person has left with them. Nothing is sent until the instructor asks, and the words are the same for everybody rather than the instructor's own. It is from them via Palaestral, says it is promotional, prints their postal address and carries an unsubscribe link; replies go to the instructor. It is never sent to an address that unsubscribed, and it counts toward the one promotional message every 14 days any address is sent.

Your instructor closed their account

Sent once, from the instructor, to each client their closing changed something for: a membership ended and the unused part of the month refunded, weekly lessons stopped, unused lessons refunded — or, for lessons bought as a gift, refunded to whoever paid for them, who is sent it too. Lessons the instructor carried over from another system can no longer be booked here, and the message says so and that no payment for them was made through Palaestral; somebody who was never told of such lessons is not sent it for them. Each lesson called off is told in its own message.

Texts a client asks for

Texting is switched off, so no booking's page offers it and none of the texts below is sent.

Where texting is switched on, a client who has booked with an instructor can ask to be texted about lessons they book with that instructor, from the page of a booking. The number is checked with a one-time code first. Every text is also sent by email, and none is an offer or an advertisement.

• A lesson is tomorrow — the day before, at the lesson's own time of day, and never before 8 AM or after 9 PM where the lesson is.
• A lesson is called off — at once and at any hour, where the lesson would have started within 12 hours. One called off further ahead is told by email alone.
• Texts are on — once, when somebody turns them on for an instructor, saying how to stop them.

Texts come from Palaestral's own toll-free number, usually one or two for each booking. Replies are not read by a person. Reply STOP to stop every text from Palaestral to that number, or HELP for help; texts can also be turned off for one instructor on the account page. Message and data rates may apply. The terms say the rest.

Messages an instructor or a studio owner receives

Sent about their own account, their own roster or their own money. These carry no instructor's name in the footer, because the business they are about is this product's with the reader rather than a lesson.

An offer needs an answer

Somebody offered their own price for seats on one of the instructor's sessions. The message names who, what they offered and when the offer closes unanswered.

A booking moved

Which client moved, from which time to which, and how many seats, with a link to the session they are now on.

A client's weekly booking stopped

Sent where the instructor's schedule change means a client's weekly booking no longer has its weekday and hour, so the instructor knows a client committed to an hour that is gone.

A refund Google asked for

Where a booking made through Book on Google was refunded on Google's request, the refund comes out of the instructor's balance the way their own cancellation would, and they are told it happened and why.

A paid move was refunded

Where a client paid for a move that could no longer be made when the payment arrived. The payment is refunded, and Stripe keeps its processing fee on it, out of the instructor's balance.

A credential is expiring

A certification or licence an instructor recorded is coming up on its expiry date, with enough notice to renew it.

A seat on a roster is offered

Sent to the address a studio invited. It names the studio, what the seat is, what the studio keeps out of what that person sells, and when the offer stops being redeemable.

A seat was taken

Sent to the owners of a studio when somebody accepts an invitation, with the name and address the seat resolved to.

What a studio keeps has changed

Sent to the instructor it is taken from when a studio's share of their sales moved without waiting on them — lowered, or set on their own seat — with the figure before and the figure after.

A studio asks to keep more

Sent to the instructor a higher share would be taken from, with the share in force and the share asked for. Nothing changes unless they accept it, from the console.

A raise was accepted, or declined

Sent to the owners of the studio that asked, naming who answered, their address and both figures.

A seat was retired

Sent to the person who held it, saying what stops. The work done under that seat stays where it is.

A payout arrived

A studio's share of one sale reached its payout account. Sent on the payment processor's own record that the transfer exists.

A share could not be taken back

Sent to the owners of a studio when the payment processor would not take its share of a refunded or disputed sale back out of its balance, with the processor's own reason and what the studio owes. Nothing new is paid to it in that currency until it is repaid, out of the shares it is owed next.

A payout was reduced

Sent to the owners of a studio when part of the shares it was owed was kept to repay what it owes back, with what was kept and what is still owed.

The payment processor's fees for a payout

Sent to the owners of a studio that has accepted paying the payment processor's fees for its own payouts, once a payout to the studio's bank can no longer fail: what was paid out, the fees for it, and that they are kept out of the shares the studio is owed next.

Your account is closed

Sent once closing an instructor account has finished: what it called off and refunded, and until when the account can be reopened with everything as it was.

Your account was reopened

Sent whenever a closed instructor account is reopened, so a reopen nobody expected is noticed.

An instructor left your studio

Sent to a studio's owners when an instructor there closes their account, with how many of their lessons there were called off.

This month’s lesson texts are used

Sent to an instructor once in a month, the first time their clients have been sent the most lesson texts Palaestral sends for one instructor in a month. It says when texts start again, and that until then a reminder or a call-off reaches a client by email alone.

Notifications on an instructor's phone

An instructor signed in to the Palaestral app can turn notifications on for that phone, and chooses which kinds arrive. Each repeats something the product already says by email or shows on the register, so nothing is told by notification alone. A notification names the instructor's own lesson, its day and time and a count of seats. It names no client, no amount, no address and no note, because it crosses a relay and the phone maker's own service before it reaches a locked screen.

New booking

Under Bookings. Somebody's booking was confirmed.

Booking cancelled

Under Bookings. A client cancelled their own booking, and its seats are free again.

Booking moved

Under Bookings. A client moved their booking. The lesson named is the one they moved to.

An offer is waiting

Under Offers. A request needs an answer, and says when it stops waiting. It is not delivered once that time has passed.

A weekly booking stopped

Under Changes to your week. A client's weekly booking ended.

Google asked for a refund

Under Changes to your week. A booking a Google listing brought was cancelled, and what was paid for it went back.

Each kind is a switch in the app, under Account → Notifications on this phone. Signing out of the app removes the phone's address, and nothing more is sent to it.

Messages about anybody's own account

Sent to whoever holds the account, client or instructor, about something done on it. It is this product's business with the reader, so it names nobody else.

A sign-in code

6 digits to the address they were asked for, for signing in on the Palaestral app, where a link cannot be followed. A code works once and for 10 minutes, and is sent only to an address that already holds an account.

An assistant was connected

Sent each time an instructor connects their own AI assistant to their account, because a connection reads their teaching and their clients’ names until it ends. It names the assistant, what it may do, when, and the browser that pressed Connect, and links to where a connection is ended. It never carries a token.

A calendar address was made

Sent each time an address a calendar app reads a schedule from is made on the account — for the lessons the reader booked, or for the schedule they teach — because whoever holds that address reads the schedule without signing in. It says whether making it turned off the address made before, and links to where an address is turned off. It never carries the address itself.

Your copy is ready

Sent when a copy of everything Palaestral holds about the reader is ready. It links to the reader's account, where the download waits seven days, and never to the file, so a forwarded email opens nothing.

Your copy could not be made

Sent when that copy could not be made, with what happens next.

Messages somebody waiting for signups receives

Sent to an address that asked to sign up while signups were closed, at the door or on the list for instructor signups. Each is Palaestral's own business with somebody who is not yet selling here, so it names nobody else.

Confirm your address

Sent once to an address given to the list for instructor signups, once the list has kept it. A second answer from the same address sends nothing, unless this message could not be sent before — while confirmations were paused, or the address's mail service did not answer — and then it is sent. It holds a link to confirm the address and a link to take it off the list, each opening a page that does nothing until it is pressed. An address nobody confirms is sent nothing more, and its answers are deleted 180 days after they were given.

Signups are open

Sent once, when instructor signups open, to each address still waiting — an address is kept for 180 days from when it first asked, and an address from the list only once it was confirmed and while it is still on the list — and never again: the address is marked as told in the same step that selects it. These are the only two messages about signups, and an address that never asked is never sent either.

Two messages are promotional

Every message above is about something the recipient did or holds here: a booking, a sign-in, a request, a lesson pack, a membership, a weekly booking, a card on file, a fee, a credential, a roster seat, a payout, or asking to hear about signups — except the note an instructor may write to a past client, which invites them back, and the one email telling the clients an instructor brought over that the instructor is here. The note is the instructor's, written or reviewed by them and sent by them to one person at a time. The email to the clients they brought is sent once to each, only when the instructor asks, in words that are the same for everybody. No address is collected for marketing, no address is sold or shared for advertising, and there is no campaign or digest mail.

How to stop receiving them

Anything about a specific lesson is fastest from the instructor directly — they hold the booking and can cancel it, which is what stops the messages about it. To stop everything, email hello@palaestral.com and say so, or ask for the account to be deleted; the privacy page sets out what deletion removes and the things that are kept.

Both promotional messages carry an unsubscribe link, and mail apps show their own unsubscribe button beside it. Either one stops promotional mail from every instructor on Palaestral to that address, for good, and everything about bookings keeps arriving. Telling the instructor, or writing to hello@palaestral.com, does the same.

Texts stop for a number the moment it replies STOP, and for one instructor's lessons from the account page. Either leaves the same messages arriving by email.

A sign-in link or code is the one message that cannot be turned off separately while an account is open, because it is how that account is opened.

Bounces and complaints

An address that bounces as undeliverable, and an address whose owner marks a message as spam, are both suppressed — no further mail of any kind is sent to that address, for every instructor and every booking, until it is reinstated. A complaint is treated as the answer to the question above: somebody asking to be left alone should not have to ask twice.

Because sign-in is a link to an email address, a suppressed address cannot sign in — which is why an instructor's note says to unsubscribe rather than mark it as spam. Write to hello@palaestral.com from another address to have it looked at.

Where it is sent from

Mail is sent from palaestral.com through Amazon Web Services, signed so a receiving provider can check it came from here. Replies reach a person at hello@palaestral.com, except replies to an instructor's note, which reach the instructor it names.