Dispatch, Provider Delivery and Engagement Are Separate Facts

Context

Asynchronous delivery reports and automated engagement signals cannot be represented honestly by one status.

Decision

Messages retain dispatch progress, provider delivery precedence and engagement separately; staff notices retain personal read state separately from delivery.

Alternatives Considered

One status would overwrite submission facts with later reports and confuse automated opens with a person’s reading.

Consequences

A message can retain provider acceptance, delivery and an automated open as separate facts. Delivery precedence and earliest timestamps tolerate reordered reports. Engagement counts remain signals rather than proof that a person read the mail.