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
***

[C Braithwaite]

Originally Posted by riverplate.com

it's that necessary? i think i can't change it
what is it for?

it is only necessary if you wish to use the auto bounce management.

[iogames]

Ok so we can use 1.2.7 without the 'Bounce Management'?

[C Braithwaite]

Originally Posted by iogames

Ok so we can use 1.2.7 without the 'Bounce Management'?

yes. the functionality will be there, but if you dont set up the filter then it will never get used. the reminder emails will still go out as normal.

[riverplate.com]

Originally Posted by C Braithwaite

it is only necessary if you wish to use the auto bounce management.

i don't use cpanel, how is it called that "thing" that must be changed in order to use the auto bounce?

thanks again

[C Braithwaite]

Originally Posted by riverplate.com

i don't use cpanel, how is it called that "thing" that must be changed in order to use the auto bounce?

thanks again

you need to be able to set up an email filter to pipe an email to an application. in this case our php script.
what is it that you use? does your host support filters and piping?

[riverplate.com]

Originally Posted by C Braithwaite

you need to be able to set up an email filter to pipe an email to an application. in this case our php script.
what is it that you use? does your host support filters and piping?

thanks
i'll ask my hosting company and i'll try to install it

if it doesn't support filters, it will be possible to set up a bounce email anyway?

ps: check what this author made with bouces https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=138884, maybe it's an alternative for users that don't support filtering

[C Braithwaite]

Originally Posted by riverplate.com

thanks
i'll ask my hosting company and i'll try to install it

if it doesn't support filters, it will be possible to set up a bounce email anyway?

ps: check what this author made with bouces https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=138884, maybe it's an alternative for users that don't support filtering

unfortunately it cant be achieved any other way. yes, ez bounce is anoter solution, however it is something more manual.

in the future i would consider coding a POP reader to read bounced email from an inbox, but that would be a very distant thing for me ..

[riverplate.com]

anyway, it's still a great hack

[iogames]

yeah... great hack!
just waiting for his enthusiasm to fade out to install the last version LOL

[ozmazdaclub]

I currently have 1.0.9 installed. Yes i know its a really old version but its been working for me since then. I am running VBulletin 3.6.8 PL2 also. Will the 1.2.7 version work with this version of vbulletin.