Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

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Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by Administrator »

Our board server log files contain a number of instances where emails to members for notifications are getting bounced because the member's email address is no longer valid.

We would appreciate if members would check in their User Control Panel, Profile tab, under Edit account settings to make sure the Email address shown is correct and valid.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by Administrator »

Apologies, I should have included a word of warning here. If you change your email address and hit submit, the forum software temporarily deactivates your account and sends out an activation email to the newly supplied email address, which you use to re-activate your account.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by Peculiar_Investor »

A nudge from another topic
Descartes wrote: 27 Nov 2020 10:44 Well, this forum has an e-mail address for each member.
We can petition the administrator to send a private e-mail to each MIA: "Are you dead, yet? Please check YES or NO"
What percentage of member email addresses do you think are still valid and actually monitored?
Administrator wrote: 14 Feb 2017 08:14 Our board server log files contain a number of instances where emails to members for notifications are getting bounced because the member's email address is no longer valid.
Members should check in their User Control Panel, Profile tab, under Edit account settings to make sure the Email address shown is correct and valid.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by kcowan »

Is there a simple way to trigger an email when their last active date is 6 months ago? This should catch them before the inevitable email changes going forward. Also purge logins for inactive members.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by Peculiar_Investor »

kcowan wrote: 28 Nov 2020 10:57 Is there a simple way to trigger an email when their last active date is 6 months ago? This should catch them before the inevitable email changes going forward. Also purge logins for inactive members.
Like everywhere else, it really is the user/member's responsibility when they change their email address to update wherever the old email address has been used. But of course most people don't remember all the places they've used their email address. Often people use throw-away email addresses when they wish to remain anonymous.

Infrequent bumping of this topic hopefully can remind members to double-check their email address used here is still valid.

Now to answer your specific question, simple way the answer is No, can it be done the answer is a qualified yes. The functionality doesn't exist in the phpBB® Forum Software, but there are extensions (in development, not validated and approved) that could provide this functionality. It is on our radar but not enough of a problem to introduce additional software to our setup.

Members come and go, some drift away once their initial question(s) are answered. Generally on boards/forums there is a core, active, group of posters and a large percentage of members who post very little. That doesn't mean they aren't lurking and learning.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by AltaRed »

Peculiar_Investor wrote: 28 Nov 2020 11:37 Members come and go, some drift away once their initial question(s) are answered. Generally on boards/forums there is a core, active, group of posters and a large percentage of members who post very little. That doesn't mean they aren't lurking and learning.
:thumbsup: It would seem to me to be an unnecessary 'make work' project to chase down the ~80%(?) that are not active posters.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by Norbert Schlenker »

FWIW, my historical experience given exposure to some fairly sizable email lists is that about 10% of emails change in a year. FWF is over 15 years old; the median "active" member probably joined more than five years ago. Chances are that at least half the emails on file are useless for contact purposes.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by CROCKD »

My Profile does not list an email address
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by Peculiar_Investor »

CROCKD wrote: 30 Nov 2020 10:31 My Profile does not list an email address
Are you sure? Are you checking ucp.php?i=ucp_profile&mode=reg_details?

Also a gentle reminder for all, if you change your email address there are additional steps required.
Administrator wrote: 14 Feb 2017 09:16 Apologies, I should have included a word of warning here. If you change your email address and hit submit, the forum software temporarily deactivates your account and sends out an activation email to the newly supplied email address, which you use to re-activate your account.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by CROCKD »

Clicking Profile under your Username does not do it.
You have to click User Control Panel. Then under the Edit Profile tab you have to go to Edit account settings.
No wonder I couldn't find it!
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by Administrator »

CROCKD wrote: 30 Nov 2020 11:00 Clicking Profile under your Username does not do it.
Mea culpa. Poor wording choice in the subject, although the instructions in the post provided the correct path to check.
Administrator wrote: 14 Feb 2017 08:14 We would appreciate if members would check in their User Control Panel, Profile tab, under Edit account settings to make sure the Email address shown is correct and valid.
The initial post's subject has been updated to clarify. Thanks.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by Administrator »

A periodic reminder to our membership.

Our board server log files contain a number of instances where emails to members for notifications are getting bounced because the member's email address is no undeliverable, i.e. likely no longer in use.

We would appreciate if members would check in their User Control Panel, Profile tab, under Edit account settings to make sure the Email address shown is correct and valid.

Should you wish to change your email address there are two ways this can be done.
  1. PM to Administator with a new email you would like to use and we will change it for you.
  2. You can change it yourself on the Account settings page. Please note that if you change your email address this board requires account reactivation on email changes. An activation key will be sent to the new email address you provided. You will not be able to login until you have received the email and used it to reactivate your account.
Thanks in advance for your assistance in keeping things running smoothly here.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by LadyGeek »

If anyone gets locked out while changing their email address, contact the forum administrators using the Contact us link at the top of every forum page.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by Bylo Selhi »

Administrator wrote: 10 Mar 2022 08:59Our board server log files contain a number of instances where emails to members for notifications are getting bounced because the member's email address is no undeliverable, i.e. likely no longer in use.
Is it feasible(*) to write/run a script that collects these bounces, then periodically posts the usernames of those affected?

(*) This is just a suggestion. I don't want to add to anyone's workload unnecessarily.
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Re: Members, please keep your email address current (User Control Panel)

Post by Administrator »

Bylo Selhi wrote: 10 Mar 2022 12:06 Is it feasible(*) to write/run a script that collects these bounces, then periodically posts the usernames of those affected?
Just about anything is possible :lol: A select few members have been sent PMs as a reminder and helped resolve some of the bounces.

The reality is many members probably never look at their profile or account settings once they have registered and activated their account.

Email addresses change and who in the right mind (Bylo excluded :lol: ) remembers every single place their used their email address and that it needs to be update if/when you change email addresses.

Hence the periodic gentle nudge as a memory jog for those who might have changed their email address and forgotten to update it here.
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