Amazon SES and Xenforo

[Mouth]

Out of interest what settings do you use on for bounces with xenforo I see the default is 3 which seems too high to me, I was thinking of using 1.

Soft Bounce Trigger Threshold: 3, 3, and 5. In that downward order.

 

[Anthony Parsons]

Could you screenshot and share your SES config for this please?

Will do...

Hi, how exactly would you clean your lists with this? Just by sending all your emails through this service?

Yes, just the once. You can then download the bounce list, import it into your list as unsubscribed.

But does the built-in automated bounce processing in Xenforo not do the same thing?

If you used Amazon to send an unclean list, just the once, Amazon will kick you to the curb. Give it a go. I doubt you will get a second chance with them. Amazon are super strict, and state not to use their service to clean a list.

I remember reading here someone did this, and they got booted from SES.

 

[Anthony Parsons]

@Mouth

Setting up SNS for an SES sending email.

Go into SNS > Topics > Create New Topic



Once created, click on the topic title to enter the subscriptions screen.

Click on Create Subscription > (popup appears) > Select EMAIL as protocol > enter your XF bounce catch-all address



Create subscription will send a confirmation email to the email address that you must quickly catch before XF processes bounce handling, and confirm the email.

Your subscription will now change from pending to enabled.

Go into your SES > click on the XF bounce email address listed > drop down notifications field > click edit configuration




Next to bounces, drop down and select the SNS topic name we created prior, and save:



You have now enabled bounce handling for SES -- anything that bounces will get sent back to your SNS topic email subscription account that you confirmed, being XF bounce handling account.



Repeat process for complaint handling, except you now put the next subscription against complaint, instead of bounce.

 

[Mouth]

Setting up SNS for an SES sending email.

Thanks, that was very helpful/affirming.

The only difference between our configurations is that you have both email feedback forwarding and a bounce notification SNS topic active. I only have the email feedback forwarding, but no bounce notification SNS topic (thus, 'none').
My understanding of the primer at the top of the notifications section, was that you'd generally have one or the other active, but not both. Doesn't both give you dual emails for a bounce? 1 from the email feedback forwarding, and another for the bounce notification SNS topic (configured as email with your XF bounces mailbox as the endpoint).

 

[Anthony Parsons]

That was purely for demo purposes. I use SNS because I send from a different address to what I use for bounce and complaint handling -- hence SNS and not default email feedback forwarding.

 

[Mouth]

I send from a different address to what I use for bounce and complaint handling -- hence SNS and not default email feedback forwarding.

I do also. Email feedback forwarding from SES still coming to the Bounced Email Address defined in ACP and not the Default (Sending) Email Address.

 

[Pieman]

Thanks to both of you, now setup the bounce system on my forum, I think I have it set up right, time will tell.

 

[Anthony Parsons]

time will tell

Just add a non-existent email to a test account, and send it an email via the system. Run the bounce cron and it should change the account from valid to bounced.

 

[Pieman]

Doh....

 

[viper357]

Hi, how exactly would you clean your lists with this? Just by sending all your emails through this service?

Yes, just the once. You can then download the bounce list, import it into your list as unsubscribed.

Thank you. Sorry for sounding dumb, but import it where? Into Amazon? I don't see any options to import a list? Thanks.

 

[Anthony Parsons]

Cleaning an email list typically refers that you have the capacity to import and export your data, i.e. Sendy.

 

[viper357]

Thank you, yes I am using Sendy, just figured out now how to import an unsubscribed list. Thank you.

 

[ProCom]

@Mouth , thanks for directing me here. I was going to reply about my experience with list-scrubbers, but figured I'd start a new thread: https://xenforo.com/community/threads/email-newsletter-list-bounce-cleanup-scrubber-services.129553/

 

[Mr Lucky]

Currently I'm getting bounce notices re: btinternet blocking Amazon

An error occurred while trying to deliver the mail to the following recipients:
xxxxxxxxxx@btinternet.comReporting-MTA: dsn; a27-34.smtp-out.us-west-2.amazonses.com

Action: failed
Final-Recipient: rfc822; xxxxxxxxxxx@btinternet.com
Diagnostic-Code: smtp; 554 4.4.7 Message expired: unable to deliver in 840 minutes.<421 Policy (1.2.6.3) Too much SPAM received from 54.240.27.34 on 2017/08/13 10:33:28 BST, if you share a mail server consider moving to a dedicated mail server not sending SPAM. Guide for bulk senders www.bt.com/bulksender>
Status: 4.4.7

 

[Mr Lucky]

I'm getting a lot of bounces now, all btinternet which seems to be blocking Amazon

Diagnostic-Code: smtp; 554 4.4.7 Message expired: unable to deliver in 840 minutes.<421 Policy (1.2.6.3) Too much SPAM received from 54.240.27.116 on 2017/09/08 07:24:39 BST,

 

[Kainzo]

IIRC, it's pretty straightforward, get out of the sandbox, validate both your sending address and bounce address, get SMTP credentials, and plug them into xF. I've had a few clients use SES and don't recall any issues with rate limiting, but you could always install something like this:

https://xenforo.com/community/resources/email-queuing-enhancements.3944/

I know this is a necro... I have 80K users on my email list and I'd say the bounce list is almost 10% .... whats a good way to clean up the bounce lists?

 

[Anthony Parsons]

Use a third party one time smtp. So for $30, https://serversmtp.com/en/cart.php, send out to the entire 80k once to find all bounces and complaints, remove them from your list, then use SES.

 

[Kainzo]

Use a third party one time smtp. So for $30, https://serversmtp.com/en/cart.php, send out to the entire 80k once to find all bounces and complaints, remove them from your list, then use SES.

Is there not a better way to capture that from my own logs? I'm pretty handy with Notepad++ and could probably catch everything around the "@" with a regex.

Though maybe $30 is worth it.

 

[Anthony Parsons]

There is no way to do it with Amazon. You can't do partial sends, or any other attempted work around. To give you an example, if your complaint rate goes about .5% then you risk suspension, and mine is telling me its being measured over the last 464 days currently. In other words, you can't get around it by batch sending small amounts each month, unless your plan is over 3 years to batch send and clean via Amazon. Bounce is 5% where you may get a please explain above that, and 10% is high risk of suspension.

You are simply better off to only send to recent email accounts, ie. the last 90 days, OR, clean everything older with another smtp, remove all the bounce and complaints, which the above service gives you as downloadable files, then you have a clean list after say 14 days of capturing bounce and complaints.

 

[fly]

Use a third party one time smtp. So for $30, https://serversmtp.com/en/cart.php, send out to the entire 80k once to find all bounces and complaints, remove them from your list, then use SES.

This is the answer. In fact, I just cleaned mine up again using this service.