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
***

[todays-women]

How I will know it's working properly or not?

Originally Posted by rwoscott

Should run automatically if everything is setup correctly, once inactive users are found.

[rwoscott]

Originally Posted by todays-women

How I will know it's working properly or not?

You can check scheduled tasks log. It will have an entry like this if it has run.

3733 Inactive User Reminder Emails 06:18, 1st Feb 2008 Emails sent to:Feral Swan luke2177 . We tried to email the following users, but their email address was invalid:

Also look at your scheduled task manager and see when it is scheduled to run.

[bhanuprasad1981]

hi i recently it on my new forum how will i know to whom mail has been sent ???

[saotome]

thanks.. installed to my forum.

[sylar]

Originally Posted by bhanuprasad1981

hi i recently it on my new forum how will i know to whom mail has been sent ???

If you run the job manually using Run NOw it will give you a list of users that the emals were sent too.

[sylar]

This is a grea product that bings back any users that have not been active.

Unfortunately I had to stop using it as I got a lot of Spam complaints. Perhaps an addition for the email to coantain a remove from mailing list and have it build a table to keep theese addresses that dont waht to receie the mail.

[deezelpope]

Originally Posted by sylar

This is a grea product that bings back any users that have not been active.

Unfortunately I had to stop using it as I got a lot of Spam complaints. Perhaps an addition for the email to coantain a remove from mailing list and have it build a table to keep theese addresses that dont waht to receie the mail.

Actually, if you add this bit of text to the mailer, it gives them the opt-out option, which basically, covers your butt regarding spam complaints:

<p>If you have received this email it is because you have elected to "allow this site to contact you via email. If you would like to opt out of future contact from this site, you can change your notification options here: <a href="$forumurl/profile.php?do=editoptions">$forumurl/profile.php?do=editoptions</a> and uncheck the box next to "Receive Email from Administrators." You must be logged in to change your options.</p> 
<p><a href="$homeurl">$homeurl</a></p>

Creepy and awesome username and avatar you've got, btw. I'm a huge Heroes fan.

[rwoscott]

Originally Posted by deezelpope

Actually, if you add this bit of text to the mailer, it gives them the opt-out option, which basically, covers your butt regarding spam complaints:

<p>If you have received this email it is because you have elected to "allow this site to contact you via email. If you would like to opt out of future contact from this site, you can change your notification options here: <a href="$forumurl/profile.php?do=editoptions">$forumurl/profile.php?do=editoptions</a> and uncheck the box next to "Receive Email from Administrators." You must be logged in to change your options.</p> 
<p><a href="$homeurl">$homeurl</a></p>

Creepy and awesome username and avatar you've got, btw. I'm a huge Heroes fan.

Thanks for the tip jammie girl!
I'm about to come around for the 2nd round of emails to inactive user(12 months Freq).

[toprak]

This is great mod but but !!!! I have 100000 members when this thing sends emails my forum get locks like 5 minutes. you should fix this script sending emails slowly not mass emailing...

Still love it and use it

[deezelpope]

Originally Posted by toprak

This is great mod but but !!!! I have 100000 members when this thing sends emails my forum get locks like 5 minutes. you should fix this script sending emails slowly not mass emailing...

Still love it and use it

Actually, there IS a setting for that...where it says 'email quantity':