Major Additions - Email Integration (New threads/replies by email)

This mod is based off of the Mail Reply modification by Colin F to which I have obtained permission to rewrite and release.

This modification allows you to mimic email lists such as yahoo groups through your forums!

After installing this modification you will have new settings in your forum manager where for each forum you can enable this modification and setup a separate email address to use for each forum that you have this enabled for.

Just like how there is a separate email address for each yahoo group.

After doing so, members can subscribe to each forum that this mod is enabled for to receive notifications for new threads and replies.

Any posts in that forum, will be sent to them via email. (Example email attached below). The users can then reply to that email (which will then be processed and posted to the forums through the cron job that runs every 10 minutes), or they can send a new email to the email address and a brand new thread will be created!

Essentially mimicing an email list! Suddenly those users that hate forums, can still be dragged into the conversations and help keep the forum's activity level up!


BUGS!
These are the known bugs to date:

• Confirmed bug that email processing does not handle Japanese characters.

Unsupported Items
These are the items that are not currently supported:

• Some custom bbcode modifications will not display like they do on the forums in the html emails. Like glow, and the table mod.

TO UPGRADE

• Please see the file in the zip for upgrading!! If your upgrading from version 2.3.X you will need to reverse some file edits that are no longer nessecary!

NEW INSTALL

• See instructions in the zip file.

VERSION HISTORY!
(See the file in the zip for a complete history!)

• 2.6 Release
  • Bug Fixes
    • Joining an unmoderated public group will now auto subscribe you per the usergroup settings.
    • NO CONFLICTS with Instant Thread Subscription! See details in below post.
  • New Stuff
    • User Option Allow Auto Subscribe - This is an admin allowable, user option that let's the user choose to not be auto subscribed.
    • User Option not receive own posts - A new user option that lets them select to NOT receive their own posts via email.
    • Editted the phrase for the Auto Subscription script to tell people what to do if there are no listings.
    • Added error checks when saving a usergroup for if auto subscriptioin is entered with a forumid for a forum that does not have email integration enabled and also checks that the usergroup you are saing is entered in the forum manager as allowed to use email integration.
• 2.6.1 Release (BETA VERSION)
  • Hot Fix
    • It appears I was unseting a variable too soon. I've corrected this and it has resolved the issue with multiple posted replies on my test server.

Most of these will be slow to make it in til I know I've got the code to handle just about every type of email we could receive But in anycase, here are the ideas for future versions!

• End User Option to subscribe to just receive new thread emails, or receive all new thread & reply emails (current version does all new threads & replies).

Thanks to RedTyger, Bob Denny, Ed Kohwley and Chris McKeever for their additions and assistance with portions of this code.

Huge thanks also goes to the many individuals that have helped test various incarnations of this mod.

MAD PROPS TO: cgmckeever for a great quoting regex for the old format, and all the mods at www.4winmobile.com for helping test version 2.4 prior to release!!

You guys rock!

Please feel free to donate to my continued work on this modification!! It let's me spend more time on it!
Make a Donation!

Version 2.6 will work with both 3.6.8 and 3.7!

The #.X versions are the solid tested versions.

The #.X.X versions are the beta versions. New features and bug fixes will be worked in there and then when I have a solid version it'll be released as the next #.X

Thank you!!

~ Cyricx

[neil00027]

I also would be keen to use this mod if it was updated for 4.2.x

Cyricx can we persuade you back to do some work on it?

[washingtonboise]

Offering $300 for viable, 4.x update without bugs. Who wants to join in by offering a collective bounty in the section for developer requests? Together, we can make it worth their time.

Cyrix, original post mentions donation to continue your work/support. Is that offer still viable?

Notice. The administration of vbulletin.org is going to lock posting to version 3.7 and lower forums. If you care about reply by email for 4.x, then you've got to act now and show you're serious. This thread is going to get locked.

I have started a new thread here for vbulletin 4.x reply by email addon.

I am also contacting Cyrix so he's aware that I would like him to keep providing support or give permission for updating the code which he modified from Colin to get this working in 3.x.

[filipo]

I'd be happy to support this as a paid mod. BTW, for some reason I can't post a reply to the new 4.x thread.

[unfv]

I see that the last update was on 29 Feb 2008, so it seems to be unsupported, but, do you know if it will be compatible with VB5?

[digeditor]

I believe I have this working in 4.2 (you can send that $300 to.... :-> )

However, I'm struggling with the parameters to use in the Forum Manager and in trying to get the email settings to work

Here's what it says in the original writeup:

In your forummanager use the following settings:

email address to reply to: username@gmail.com
hostname: pop.gmail.com
username: username@gmail.com
password: password
Type of connection: select "POP3 with SSL (Self signed certificate)"


my forum is hosted at 1and1.com so here's what I believe I should be entering:

email address to reply to: answerline@diganswerline.org
hostname: pop.1and1.com
username:answerline@diganswerline.org
password: password

I don't see the SSL option anywhere:
Type of connection: select "POP3 with SSL (Self signed certificate)" I have it set as POP3

I've also tried every combination of 1and1.com and diganswerline.org with no success.

Here's what I get when I test it with the email integrations Forum Settings Help

Warning: imap_open() [function.imap-open]: Couldn't open stream {diganswerline.org:110/pop3/notls}INBOX in [path]/admincp/admin_ei_search_settings.php on line 132

Which makes sense as 1and1 wants it to be pop.1and1.com not diganswerline.org as the hostname

When I replace it with 1and1 I get:

Warning: imap_open() [function.imap-open]: Couldn't open stream {1and1.com:110/pop3/notls}INBOX in [path]/admincp/admin_ei_search_settings.php on line 132

Yes I have looked to see if IMAP is on by going to Admincp-> Maintenence -> View PHP Info
The IMAP block shows up as c client version = 2007 and SSL and kereros support as "Enabled"

Any ideas what I'm not doing?


Jim

[MajorFm.com]

Any chance someone has this working on vb5?

[fxdigi-cash]

This mod is very important for any vb admin, why doesn't vb care enough to make this mod built-in feature anyways??

[ahobilam]

I also interested to support this idea.

[digeditor]

I've got this working under vB 4+.

I haven't any idea how to get the update onto here so it can be used by the community.

Anyone out there who might know how to go about doing that?

Jim

[Piggo]

Originally Posted by digeditor

I've got this working under vB 4+.

WOW!! Really?

I think I speak for many when I write: THANK YOU!!!

I can't help with the upload, but I am sure others will...

Thanks Jim! Looking forward to using this again...

Added: Doylestown PA? lol, I bought a Daewoo there once!