Change email status to invalid for bounced addresses

[spk100]

I noticed recently that all users whose email ids are bouncing are still showing up as valid. I have bounce options set up and I can see the emails are being read and it shows up in the log.
But the status is not changing.

Is there anything else that I should be doing?

 

[Paul B]

If you have configured the bounce email handler correctly and XF is processing them, the account status will automatically be changed.

 

[MaximilianKohler]

I just noticed this as well. I'm using Amazon SES and everything seems to be working correctly using the free addon. But I noticed in my bounce logs that one user had two bounces -- one on Dec 31 and one on Jan 7 -- yet their "user state" is still "valid".

My "Soft bounce trigger threshold" settings are 2, 2, 2, so my understanding is that they definitely should have been marked as "Email invalid (bounced)".

Also strange is that their email doesn't link to their account on the bounce list:


Under "view", all 3 of those entries say "bounceType":"Transient","bounceSubType":"General",.

 

[TPerry]

I just noticed this as well. I'm using Amazon SES and everything seems to be working correctly using the free addon. But I noticed in my bounce logs that one user had two bounces -- one on Dec 31 and one on Jan 7 -- yet their "user state" is still "valid".

This is an issue I had when setting up SES and using an add-on that "supports" it and bounces (probably the one you are referring to)... I ended up (to get reliable results) having to have a separate email account set up with a provider (in my case, ZoHo that had a domain setup for my site) for my bounced emails and then connect to it. So far, my soft bounces work like expected, as have my hard bounces (something that add-on had issues with on my setup). There were a few users of that add-on (no longer maintained) that were rather intense on the fact that it worked for them, so it just had to work for me... but reality disagreed.

 

[MaximilianKohler]

I find that bounce-email thing to be really strange, and I met various annoying issues when trying it. And I noticed in recent weeks that Amazon's bounce email notifications can stop working randomly, but the webhook seems to be consistent. So far the addon has seemed to work well. This is a strange case where the listed email doesn't link to the active account, and lists their name (which is nowhere in their account, so it must have pulled it from the bounce notification), and the email is in brackets, all of which is unusual.

I wish the XF devs would work on basic functionality like this instead of things like native dark mode and the overhaul of the theming system, which to me seem much less important and arguably an unnecessary waste of time.

 

[spk100]

If you have configured the bounce email handler correctly and XF is processing them, the account status will automatically be changed.

I believe I have things configured properly and I can also see XF processing them. But the status is not changing.

Last week, I manually changed status to email bounced.

 

[TPerry]

And I noticed in recent weeks that Amazon's bounce email notifications can stop working randomly, but the webhook seems to be consistent.

And I found just the opposite... ergo the reason I kicked the add-on in it's current unsupported version to the curb and fell back to using a dedicated email address for the bounce returns (which has worked well in my setup, but did take some "finessing" to get to work). And it's been long enough ago when I configured it, I don't want to go back down that road again trying to remember all what I did.
It would be really nice if XenForo was set up natively to work with providers such as Amazon SES and others that are dedicated to email delivery to work with bounce/unsubscribe (via API)... but I honestly don't expect to see that natively, it probably being more towards a paid 3rd party add-on than anything in their opinion.

 

[MaximilianKohler]

This is what I mean by the way: https://repost.aws/questions/QU8cex...rwarding-suddenly-stopped-working-for-bounces. The actual emails don't always get delivered by Amazon. I sent Amazon feedback about it multiple times and never heard back and it still happens.

I think it would be pretty ridiculous for basic email functionality to be considered a paid addon feature. As a paid software, XF needs to be at least as good as free options, and I've already come across a number of ways it is not.

 

[TPerry]

The actual emails don't always get delivered by Amazon.

Well, all mine get delivered except for those that are reported as bounces and acted upon by XF when they get sent to the configured (in XF ACP) bounce account (which is hosted at an alternative MTA provider).

I think it would be pretty ridiculous for basic email functionality to be considered a paid addon feature. As a paid software, XF needs to be at least as good as free software, and I've already come across a number of ways they are not.

Welcome to the XF environment... when anything beyond basic is a paid 3rd party add-on if you want to push the envelope (or even get base features in many aspects). And yes, I've had XF developers "moderate" me based upon my opinions on the lacking of what they offer and my "vigorous" response to it.
I've simply reconciled myself to the fact if I want any decent ability beyond the bare-bones basics that XF deigns to grant to their license holders... I'll have to spend extra monies. In many ways, it resolves to the vaudeville act of "shut up, we will tell you what you need".