Consistent use of special characters in list/segment names

There are some frustrating inconsistencies when naming lists/segments

In the LISTS & SEGMENTS VIEW

  • The character limit is 255 characters; elsewhere, it is 80 characters.

  • The message "List names cannot contain special characters" doesn't say which characters are disallowed, so it becomes a guessing game trying to remove & + / until the message goes away.

  • If you rename a segment that includes an & or a +, there is no special-character message; it simply strips the & or + from the saved name without warning.

In the EDIT LIST/SEGMENT

  • The character limit is 80 characters; elsewhere, it is 255 characters.

  • There are no special character limitations - I can name the list !@#$%!^&*()?:{},./;[]\ although there appear to be some characters, such as <>, that aren't allowed that generate a "Something went wrong, please try to save your segment again." message.

Why is this frustrating?

  • I like to use dates in my names, and / isn't always allowed, so I can't do 01/01/2026.

  • I build segments with inclusions and exclusions, so I'd like to use "Users & Members" or "+U and +M", but + and & get stripped out sometimes.

  • Lists/Segments don't have descriptions, so I have to put all the information in the name, but sometimes 80 characters isn't enough.

  • It's clear the system supports names with 255 characters and a wide selection of special characters, but for some reason, in some places but not others, arbitrary rules are being applied.

How would this change help you or your business?
It would reduce frustration with using Constant Contact.
Best reply by William A

We're updating the status of this idea to more accurately reflect its current status with our engineering team, and also made slight changes to the subject line in order for it to be more easily found. We can't guarantee a commitment to deliver on this feature request, but it should indicate some awareness that we have heard your feedback and could be taken under consideration for a future release.

For future visitors:
If you're interested in having this functionality available, please remember to vote by clicking the ^ Upvote icon at the top of the thread, alongside commenting your use case if you have one.

View original
Status
Acknowledged
1
1 reply
Release Notes

Take a look at our latest product updates.