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
***

[Millenium IT]

To be quite honest, I didnt think that this mod would, at all, have an effect, whatsoever. I would like to congradulate you on an epic release, and you can quote me saying that this really works. My forum was in a downwards spirl, but this mod brought everything back to life. My 'Users Online Today' went from 45+ all the way up to 75+ in one day!

[kiFF]

Should it be sending you an email report even if there are no inactive members? Because I unistalled 1.11 (because it kept saying my members' emails were invalid) and installed 1.09, and I haven't gotten an email report in a couple weeks...I don't think the emails are being sent.

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by kiFF

Should it be sending you an email report even if there are no inactive members? Because I unistalled 1.11 (because it kept saying my members' emails were invalid) and installed 1.09, and I haven't gotten an email report in a couple weeks...I don't think the emails are being sent.

No. With 1.09, the only emails I get are occasionally from bounced/invalid email addresses. Otherwise, I don't get anything.

I do have a couple of extra "test" accounts, though, and I do get reminders for those sent to the appropriate email address, since they are rarely used.

[kiFF]

Okay, I checked the scheduled tasks log and it has been sending them out. Thanks.

[Alfa1]

When composing such mass emails, please review the anti spam policies of hotmail, yahoo, gmail, AOL, etc.

[sparky5693]

I downgraded to .09, and everything is fine again.

[baghdad4ever]

ok im confuse

which version may i install now??

plz help

[djbaxter]

I recommend you use version 1.09.

[testebr]

I will install the old version, but its better you update the mod.

[Andy Dean]

Hi, thanks for a top mod!

One question tho, i've installed 1.09 and everything is running as expected e-mails going out no problem, however the scheduled 'Inactive User Reminder Emails' task runs very randomly, some times as much as ten times in ten minutes, some times not for five hours. What triggers this task to run as m h D M DoW inthe Scheduled Task Manager are all "*" ?

Is this the way it's supposed to run? or should i be setting a time for the task to run in the Scheduled Task Manager?

Many Thanks!