The trials system. The process, and every email it sends.
The participant journey, your admin workflow, and the full email tie-in — for the web app at trials.statemode.io and the State Mode phone app. Compiled 23 July 2026 from a live walkthrough of the public screens and the build correspondence with Ben at Lumen Digital.
One account, four pieces. Web, phone, email, admin.
The web app
trials.statemode.io — where people register, sign the paperwork and answer questionnaires. Works in any browser. Built and maintained by Ben Harraway, Lumen Digital.
The phone app
State Mode Authenticator — iOS via TestFlight; Android submitted to Google Play in early July. Its main job is push notifications: the nudge when a questionnaire is due.
The emails
System emails come from trials@statemode.io (“State Mode Trials Team”). Invitations currently come from you, at admin@statemode.io. Roughly nine in ten arrive; junk folders take the rest.
The admin back end
Your side of the same site. The dashboard flags stuck users, each trial has a View Trial page with the questionnaire data, and you can reset any participant's password.
The participant journey. What they see, what fires when.
They receive your invitation
Sent by you, by email. It welcomes them and points at the registration link.
“You're Invited to Join the State Mode Trial”
From admin@statemode.io (you, manually) · links to trials.statemode.io/trials/register · fallback contact josh@statemode.io
They fill in the Trial Registration form
One long form on a dark State Mode screen: first name, last name, email, address (two lines), city, county, postcode, date of birth, password and confirmation. The button reads Register for Trials.
They verify their email address
The system emails a verification link immediately. Nothing else unlocks until it's clicked — unverified people surface as “stuck” on your dashboard.
Email verification link
From trials@statemode.io · must be clicked before onboarding continues
This is the email people miss most, and the number-one support issue so far. If someone says “nothing arrived”: junk folder first, then mark the sender as safe.
Onboarding walks them through automatically
On first login the app pushes them straight into the required steps, wizard-style: disclaimer → NDA → questionnaire. Each step auto-proceeds. When all three are done, their dashboard shows “We will be in touch soon.”
You decide eligibility — they're told either way
Mark them eligible or ineligible in the back end and the system emails the outcome for you.
Eligible or ineligible notification
From trials@statemode.io · sent automatically when you set their status
They install the phone app
Eligible participants install State Mode Authenticator and sign in with the same account. That registers them for push notifications (OneSignal underneath) — the channel that actually gets the weekly nudge seen.
They take part — weekly feedback
Through the trial they answer the recurring Friday questionnaire in the app. A push notification and an email prompt each round; answers land in your back end immediately.
Weekly feedback prompt
Push from the phone app + email from trials@statemode.io
If they get locked out
Two routes back in: “Forgot your password?” on the login screen (emails a reset link), or you reset it from their user page in the admin — added precisely because this kept coming up.
Password reset link
From trials@statemode.io · triggered from the Forgot password screen
Eight steps on their side — only one of them is yours to trigger.
Your workflow. Invite, unstick, decide, export.
Invite
Send the invitation email with the /trials/register link to each new participant or batch.
Watch the dashboard for stuck users
It flags anyone who hasn't verified their email or hasn't finished a required step. Chase these early — it's almost always the junk folder.
Screen and set eligibility
Review the completed disclaimer, NDA and questionnaire, then set eligible or ineligible. The system sends the notification email for you.
Run the trial, pull the data
Answers appear in the back end as they come in. From the View Trial page, Download Questionnaire Data. On Ben's July list: the export-everything view (questions × participants × weeks, ready for graphing) and a separate initial questionnaire for the start of a trial.
Support
Password trouble → reset from the View Trial User page. Registration trouble → invitees are pointed at josh@statemode.io, so watch that inbox during onboarding waves.
The system does the sending — you do the deciding.
The emails. All five, in one table.
| When it fires | From | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| You invite someone | admin@statemode.io | “You're Invited to Join the State Mode Trial” — carries the registration link. Sent manually by you. |
| They register | trials@statemode.io | Verification link — must be clicked before onboarding continues. Highest junk-folder risk. |
| You set their status | trials@statemode.io | Eligible / ineligible outcome, sent automatically. |
| Questionnaire due | trials@statemode.io | Weekly feedback prompt — paired with a push notification from the phone app. |
| They tap “Forgot password” | trials@statemode.io | Password reset link. |
Deliverability as of early July: 24 system emails sent, 92% delivered. Sender name shows as “State Mode Trials Team”. When onboarding a group, say it out loud: check your junk folder for the verification email.
What's verified. And what isn't, yet.
- Seen live (phone-sized browser walkthrough): the splash page, log in, sign up, forgot password, and the full Trial Registration form at /trials/register.
- Confirmed from the build correspondence: the auto-proceeding wizard, “We will be in touch soon”, eligibility emails, the stuck-user dashboard, questionnaire downloads, admin password reset, the sender-address change, and the delivery figures.
- Not toured yet: the screens behind login. Claude can't create accounts or enter passwords — log in once in the browser pane with a test account and the inside views can be added.
Internal document · State Mode Trials · companion to the participant-facing guide.