Mini Mods - Email reminder for inactive users

Inactive reminder emails. This mod was designed to send out a reminder to inactive members to try and win them back.

***1.2.7 Update***
This update includes built in support for bouncing emails. The script will automatically detect the bounced mail, mark it as bounced so the user is not to be contacted again so as to avoid spam, and then move that user into a seperate usergroup. This plugin is still in it's testing stages, but I have addressed the bugs mentioned previously regarding the emailing side of things.

This is important so keep reading
To install this plugin and take advantage of the bounced email features you are going to need to follow these instructions very carefully. I can not gaurentee that they will work to the letter as this will be based on each persons individual hosting settings.

Step 1: Pre Install
Before you touch this product you need to do the following

• Create an "inactive" usergroup
• Set up a "bounce to" email address
  Pick an email address that you want to use as your bounced email address. Im using "bounce@icora.co.uk". feel free to use whatever you wish.
• Add a email message filter
  This is the hard part. You need to set up a filter that will 'pipe' an email sent to the above email address.
  I am using Cpanel 11 and this is how i have mine set up:
  Rules: 'To' 'Equals' 'bounce@icora.co.uk'
  Actions: 'Pipe to program' with the setting: |/usr/local/bin/php /home/icora/public_html/forum/bounce.php
  This will depend entirely on your settings and structure so you may have to do a little research. It would be very helfull if people who have to use diferent configurations would post them on here.
• Go into vBulletin options, and find the options for 'Emails'. there is a setting asking you if you want to use '-f'. set this to yes.
• While still inn the email options set the 'Bounce Email Address' to your above address.

Step 2: Install
Remove all previous trace of this modification, and upload all the files in the "upload" folder to your base directory of the server.
Go into your product management section and add a new product. upload the XML file with overwrite selected.
Refresh your admin CP to load the new menu items. Just under the "users" group you will find an "Inactive Reminders" group. open that up and click on settings.
Play with these settings and options to suit for the most part. when you come down to the bounce settings you MUST use the same email address as the one you created above.
Set to active and save.

I must re-iterate that this version has not been widely tested, but the simulations i have ran have worked. I look forward to your feedback!

Features:

• Select the period of time before a user is considered inactive.
• Select how many emails to send to each inactive user per inactivity period
• Choose weather inactivity is based on members "Last Post" or their "Last Visit"
• Specify how often followup emails are sent
• Specify alternative emails to send to reduce repetition
• Keep a log of all inactive users contacted

Planned Updates:

• More detail in reports
• ...such as
• Which useres returned
• Effectivness stats
• Email validity

**1.2.1 Update***
Added more detail to the reports section. You can now see the email address, and quickly indicate which emails were invalid. You can link directly to that user to edit as you wish.
I have fixed some errors which have been crashing people's database. Please post any problems if you can.

**1.2.3 Update***
Fixed several problems with escaping strings
Stopped database errors locking up site
***

**1.2.4 Update***
Added a "From Email" so you can specify your own email address to send the reminders from.
Fixed potential bug for people who do not use the mail queue.

Anyone having problems with sending emails out too fast, and multiple emails being sent need to consider changing their email settings in vbulletin options.
People with emails going out too fast - edit Number of Emails to Send Per Batch to a lower amount
People with multiple emails sending - edit Use Mailqueue System to "Yes, with locking"
***

**1.2.5 Update***
Added more stats in the reports page, also added a "Send test email" option so users can test the functionality of the mod
***

[RDX1]

Originally Posted by djbaxter

If you had bopthered to read the thread, you'd already know the answer to this.

You have NOT "set this to send out emails only once". You have set it to send out emails every day.

Change the value for "Frequency" to something more reasonable, like 30 (days) or 60 or 90.

Yes, let me read through over 450 posts and 16 pages.

There's no "set this to send out emails only once"

[deezelpope]

Originally Posted by trickfly

This mod just dosen't work!

Please UPDATE!!!!!!

It does, too, work! Beautifully, in fact!

And it was just updated a week ago!

[deezelpope]

Originally Posted by RDX1

Yes, let me read through over 450 posts and 16 pages.

There's no "set this to send out emails only once"

It's called a "search" and it's here for that reason. It's like some of you people are afraid to do a little work for the answers. A little kindness goes a long way, people. These are FREE modifications!!! WTF?! All these authors have day jobs, and are doing this in their SPARE time. There's no reason to be rude.

They never claimed there was...you're the one who said it. Setting the frequency isn't that difficult...there's two places in your AdminCP...in vBulletin options and Scheduled Task Manager.

[C Braithwaite]

hi all - sorry I've been having a romantic holiday in Paris and I have only just arrived home - I've had to skim over a lot of the posts, but i get a rough Idea.

I will make comparisons between versions to make sure everything is okay, but for the time being emails should be formatted for plain text.


on a side note, I found it quite amusing to find an email in my inbox reminding me about a forum i once joined..

[DieselMinded]

Good Potential But I think Ill just Use Mass Email to users when I wish to , BTW got my Subsciption mailer working again had to repair tables again

DM

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by RDX1

Yes, let me read through over 450 posts and 16 pages.

I'm sorry. You're right, of course. What was I thinking? That you might actually take the time to find the answer for yourself? I mean, I know that your question has in fact been previously answered in this thread at least a dozen times, but why should anyone expect you to do any of the work yourself?

I hope you can forgive me for my social gaffe...

[Chachacha]

Well this modification sounded good until I installed it and realized that it puts a link to the modder's website in the footer. I really don't like that ...so I disabled the product.

[blogtorank]

You mean to tell me that's why they have the "Search This Mod" pull down up top?

Originally Posted by djbaxter

I'm sorry. You're right, of course. What was I thinking? That you might actually take the time to find the answer for yourself? I mean, I know that your question has in fact been previously answered in this thread at least a dozen times, but why should anyone expect you to do any of the work yourself?

I hope you can forgive me for my social gaffe...

[Chachacha]

Originally Posted by deezelpope

It's called a "search" and it's here for that reason. It's like some of you people are afraid to do a little work for the answers. A little kindness goes a long way, people. These are FREE modifications!!! WTF?! All these authors have day jobs, and are doing this in their SPARE time. There's no reason to be rude.

They never claimed there was...you're the one who said it. Setting the frequency isn't that difficult...there's two places in your AdminCP...in vBulletin options and Scheduled Task Manager.

I don't see where RDX1 was rude. YOU seem to be the rude one.

Btw, using the search doesn't always work.

You need to check your attitude at the door.

Thanks.

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by Chachacha

Well this modification sounded good until I installed it and realized that it puts a link to the modder's website in the footer. I really don't like that ...so I disabled the product.

Originally Posted by Chachacha

I don't see where RDX1 was rude. YOU seem to be the rude one.... You need to check your attitude at the door.

Another one who can't read or who is too lazy to read... and this one has the audacity to suggest that some else has an attitude problem...

Don't like the add-on? Don't install it. Nobody here will mourn your loss.

Don't like the footer link? The add-on contains an option to delete it... but of course you don't read instructions so you missed that...

Let me be blunt here: Sometimes the explosion of lazy "gimme gimme and don't expect anything in return" morons on this planet over the past couple of decades fills me with despair for the future of our species.