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
***

[OziloZ]

Originally Posted by djbaxter

One last thing to try:

1. Uninstall the add-on completely.

2. Then install version 1.09.

I did it already like that.

[djbaxter]

OziloZ:

1. what version of vBulletin are you running?

2. what other add-ons do you have installed?

[OziloZ]

1. 3.6.5

2. We have 25 add-ons installed . Is this necessary what they are?

[dune3000]

Importing Style, Please Wait...

Invalid File Specified

what wrong?

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by OziloZ

1. 3.6.5

2. We have 25 add-ons installed . Is this necessary what they are?

That's quite a few add-ons. As to whether it matters which ones are installed, yes it might matter. It's possible that this particular add-on is interacting negatively with some other add-on you have installed. Listing them might provide information to the author of this add-on in terms of identifying why it isn't working for you.

Alternatively, you could try disabling (rather than uninstalling) your other add-ons, especially any that may be using the mail system, to see whether doing so will allow this add-on to work. If so, re-enable the other add-ons one by one until the inactive users add-on "breaks" again and you'll know where the conflict is.

[masterme]

Strange (to me) problem here.
I run the latest vBulletin, couple add-ons, nothing that should interrupt this mod.
I have the mod set on 30. So I asume that the mail goes out each 30 days. But I get complaints that members receive it a couple days in a row.
I have set to send it to people who are inactive for 30 days (not last post) and frequency at 30.

Any idea what is wrong? (or what I did wrong...)

[djbaxter]

1. which version is this?

2. did you install it and then uininstall -> reinstall it? that could result in multiple emails being sent...

[masterme]

I have installed the 1.11 version and did not install-uninstall-reinstall it.

[Wild-Wing]

this is nice me like.

[rayw]

Thanks for this mod, I have installed however, I was half way through configuring it (writing up a nice message to email out) and all of a sudden I get this email saying that:

This email shows that the product is installed and working as it should be.

Emails sent to: usernames here (about 5 of them) . We tried to email the following users, but their email address was invalid: 1 username here

Is this normal? Does that mean that those members have been emailed the default email text or is it simply a test saying that these members would have been emailed if the mod was enabled?

Thanks!