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Remove Contacts from Old List
Answer ID 4802   |   Last Review Date 01/13/2019

How does the Remove Contacts from Old List check box affect new and existing contact lists in Outreach & Feedback?

Environment:

Oracle B2C Service, Outreach & Feedback

Resolution:

The Remove Contacts from Old List check box is selected by default to ensure that your database tables do not get too big to manage. This check box is connected to a database variable that controls the time frame contact list data stays in your database. The database variable is set, by default, to 400 days.

If a contact list has not been used in a broadcast mailing or survey and the list has not been updated for 400 days, it is considered "old" data and is purged. We call this "clearing" the contact list. Keep in mind that neither the contact list nor any of the contacts are deleted, and you can always see which contact lists were used on the Audience tab of your mailing or survey.

Every time a contact list has been cleared, a contact list transaction is created. This transaction provides the following:

  • Displays the contacts lists that were removed on the Audit Log tab of a contact list.
  • Ensures the contact list is not cleared for another 400 days.

You can clear the Remove Contacts from Old List check box to let contacts stay in contact lists for longer than 400 days; however, we recommend leaving this check box selected to ensure your database tables stay at a manageable size. To change the 400 day default value of the database variable, submit a service request to Ask Technical Support. Note: It is possible to change the value to less than 400 days, but it is not possible to set the value greater than 400.

Notes:

  • A contact list will never be cleared if it exists in the audience for any transactional mailing or survey.
  • A contact list will never be cleared if it is used in an Add to List element in a campaign or survey flow.
  • A contact list will never be cleared if it is used in a transactional OR recurring mailing (mailings.type NOT IN (2,3))
  • A contact list will never be cleared if it is used in a mailing with an mailings.updated, mailing.scheduled, or mailings.planned date in the past 400 days.
  • A contact list will never be cleared if it is used in a contact list with a contact_list.updated in the past 400 days