@viper357
@HWS
@Alfa1
o.k., I bring this old thread up again.
as I mentioned earlier, I have already a script for this. But because of various reasons, I never got it properly working. This I want to change now.
I made this week the effort to install again a clean XF-Test Forum (XF 1.5.17) and a clean PHPlist installation (version 3.3.1) on my own server.
I than installed the custom made addon in Xenforo. Installation was successfully. So far the good news. I am now testing back and forth, whether the interaction between the XF and PHPlist works properly.
It seems that at the moment, the synchronisation works only one way. From XF -> PHPlist. That means the users within XF, who checked the box for "receiving site mailiing from the admin" will get imported into PHPlist via a cron job within Xenforo.
My problem at the moment is, that it does not seem to synchronize the other way around, i.e. if a user uses the unsubscribe link at the buttom of the PHPlist Newsletter. This is deleting the email address out of the PHPlist database (or blacklisting that email address), but this information gets not transferred to the XF forum.
The result is, that the user does not get the PHPlist newsletter anymore, but still has the checkbox within XF to "on" for receiving site mailings.
Same for bounced emails. Surprisingly the script does not try to add the same user again to the PHPlist databse with the next cron job. I do not know why yet. But this is a good thing
Also the username is currently not at all transferred to PHPlist. I guess the reason is because in the standard settings, PHPlist only uses email addresses. But there is a possibility to configure PHPlist to use also usernames, which would make it a lot more personal for sending this to my users. That synchronisation seems also to be missing.
I need to test more today...
This addon is only a very basic bridge!
It only shall make sure, that the same information is in the XF forum as in the PHPlist database regarding vaild email addresses and who wants to receive the newsletter. Apart of that, nothings shall be implemented. I want to have it that simple by purpose to avoid any problems if you upgrade to new versions on both sides.
All other emails (thread notifications etc.) from xenforo shall be sent also in the future by xenforos email system.
So the Newsletter will be "created, written/formatted" within PHPlist with all the features available there. Nothing else. The sending of that newsletter is also over phplist only. Either manually over your browser or via a special PHPlist cronjob (outside of XF) automatically. You can even put realease date and time into that cronjob, when the newsletter shall be sent out in the future.
The unsubscribe link at the buttom of the newsletter is for the PHPlist database and only thanks to the cronjob within XF this information gets transferred to the forum (theoretically, because this does not work at the moment). Same for bounced email addresses.
I am the owner of the code, so technically, I could release it in the RM. Currently I try to convince the old coder of that script to fix the few issues left. If he has no time for this, I need to go shopping for another coder. IMHO should not be too expensive, because these are only fixes.
I have to think about this to avoid playing here against the Xenforo rules. Crowdfunding is not allowed anymore as far as I know. I am not a coder at all. So I can not give support on the technical side. But I invested already money in this addon and I really need this now urgently, because of my switch to another webhoster and the way email providers are more and more strict with receiving newsletters and blacklisting the senders domainname.
So I could imagine to offer the script once it is working properly for a little money in the resource manager to recover my costs "as is" without maintainance promises (since I am not a coder). But I need to find a cheap coder first who fix the few issues left.
Whoever is interested in this addon, leave a comment here or PM me.
Why still my vote for PHPlist?
The risk nowadays to get your IP or domain blacklisted very fast is very high nowadays, if you sent to many emails too fast to the same domainname etc..
The amount of free emails you can send with all the other options (mailchimp et alii) per month is decreasing more and more. Once you are over this threshold, it is getting very expensive. The free script PHPlist is as far as I know the only solution to handle newsletters professionaly without any kind of limitations and without paying any money for it.
Do not mix phplist
.org (free) with their service offer on phplist
.com (payed)
I surfed the internet and the RM here for any kind of other alternative. There is none! Even after 5 years of requesting this here regularly.
With all other alternatives, you always have to pay a lot of money monthly, if you want to send out weekly newsletters with around 30.000 users each. We are talking here about hundreds of USD each month. Plus the price of the addon
