The "destinations much closer than 500 miles" was explicitly handled in the story, I don't know why that was even in the FAQ except that the asker failed reading comprehension.
> "There are a number of destinations within that radius that we can't reach, either, or reach sporadically, but we can never email farther than this radius."
> "There are a number of destinations within that radius that we can't reach, either, or reach sporadically, but we can never email farther than this radius."