Although rare, we have had both bots and people attempt to contact multiple resource partners within a SourceLink system. To help guard our affiliates against this kind of activity, we’ve set some automatic blocks for users who attempt to contact more than five resource partners within any 48 hour period. An additional check happens if a website user attempts to contact 30 resource partners within a 30 day period.
Generally, if a user is attempting to contact that many resource partners, they are not finding what they are looking for, or they are trying to sell or market their own services. Either way, we notify our affiliates and stop the activity.
Since placing this check in effect, SourceLink has received zero complaints from affiliates about any legitimate inquiries not going through.
When the block goes into effect, a message will be shown to the user letting them know they have sent too many communications to resource partners and to contact the local affiliate for further assistance.
An e-mail will also be automatically sent to the email address on record (via SourceLink Pro -> Web Form -> Navigator – Contact Web Form -> Email notification settings), and a pending task will be created in the SourceLink system. The e-mail will explain that the communication was not sent sent to the Resource Partner because the web user who sent this has been flagged for sending too many emails within a 48 hour or 30 day period. The e-mail and pending task will include the message, and any other details associated with the user who attempted to connect with the resource partner. We recommend affiliates follow up privately with that individual to determine the best connection for their needs.
Here is an example e-mail communication:
