XF 1.5 Some users not getting alerts

[sgr]

A lot of users are watching a thread on my forum and some are not getting alerts when a new post/attached file is posted on that thread. What could the reason be? They're all watching the thread..

 

[ENF]

A lot of users are watching a thread on my forum and some are not getting alerts when a new post/attached file is posted on that thread. What could the reason be? They're all watching the thread..

We ran into a similar problem on 1.5.7 -- and we're still not sure what the root cause is even after disabling addons. (still haven't moved to 1.5.8 yet, but soon probably)

Are you sure it's just the one thread? Ours seem to be random where watched thread alerts are not being registered in the xf_user_alert table in the DB and thus the users aren't getting the alerts for the threads they are watching.

Some users just don't notice but at least with my account, I click new posts and see threads I'm watching have been updated but I didn't get an alert for it. Originally, I thought Pushover may have triggered a problem, but taking that out of the equation didn't change anything.

While it doesn't break the board, it does leave some users out if they don't get the notifications they're expecting.

 

[sgr]

We ran into a similar problem on 1.5.7 -- and we're still not sure what the root cause is even after disabling addons. (still haven't moved to 1.5.8 yet, but soon probably)

Are you sure it's just the one thread? Ours seem to be random where watched thread alerts are not being registered in the xf_user_alert table in the DB and thus the users aren't getting the alerts for the threads they are watching.

Some users just don't notice but at least with my account, I click new posts and see threads I'm watching have been updated but I didn't get an alert for it. Originally, I thought Pushover may have triggered a problem, but taking that out of the equation didn't change anything.

While it doesn't break the board, it does leave some users out if they don't get the notifications they're expecting.

That is correct. There could be more threads. I checked the database for some users and they're not getting alerts despite watching those threads. The alerts aren't there in the xf_user_alert table. Alerts are vital!

I don't think 1.5.8's release notes mention fixing this. Is this even a confirmed bug from XF? Can anyone from the team comment on this? @Brogan or @Mike ? Thanks.

 

[ENF]

That is correct. There could be more threads. I checked the database for some users and they're not getting alerts despite watching those threads. The alerts aren't there in the xf_user_alert table. Alerts are vital!

Ok, this is helpful to me then if someone is having the same or at least similar issue. I'll go back and start from scratch, it's just hard to nail this down since it's really inconsistent.

 

[sgr]

Ok, this is helpful to me then if someone is having the same or at least similar issue. I'll go back and start from scratch, it's just hard to nail this down since it's really inconsistent.

Yeah. I just checked for two users who complained about not getting alerts. The xf_user_alerts table didn't have entries for it, even though xf_thread_watch shows they're watching. Plus it had entries for me getting the alert and not them, which is weird. This shouldn't be happening. Either it's a XF bug or some addon is causing it. Maybe we should share what addons we're using?

 

[ENF]

Here you go, this is my list from the site with issues:

Ads Manager
Conversation Essentials
CTA Featured Threads
Digital Point Better Analytics
Find Unanswered Threads
LiquidPro Simple Forms*
Live Update
Members Online
Moderator Essentials
Most Likes
Most Posts
Sidebar Position
Similar Threads
Special Avatar for Banned Members
Unread Post Count
URL Censor
User Essentials (Enhanced Version)
Xen Pushover
XenForo Enhanced Search
[AD] UI.X
[WMTech] - Sticky Multiple Account Info

All are mostly up-to-date with current releases, except ads manager, which has an update pending at the next maintenance day.
*self-maintained since author closed the business.

Edit: PHP is latest 5.5.x release (.36) and DB is MariaDB 5.5.48
Edit2: This is where I first noted the issue described. Pushover was new, but I don't think it was the cause. I just happened to find this issue when Pushover wasn't getting alerts which led me back to trace the alerts in the DB, which were missing!

 

[Mike]

Nothing has changed in this code for quite some time. If it's down to not getting alerts from one thread, then the only potential cause I would be aware of is the "one alert until the thread is (fully) read" behavior, which is the expected behavior.

 

[ENF]

Nothing has changed in this code for quite some time. If it's down to not getting alerts from one thread, then the only potential cause I would be aware of is the "one alert until the thread is (fully) read" behavior, which is the expected behavior.

Thank you - will make sure a thread is fully read in testing.

 

[sgr]

Nothing has changed in this code for quite some time. If it's down to not getting alerts from one thread, then the only potential cause I would be aware of is the "one alert until the thread is (fully) read" behavior, which is the expected behavior.

I've got complaints from 2 users. One of them is not receiving alerts from 2 threads which are being watched by that user. The other is not receiving alerts from one of those two threads, both being watched. This has been confirmed from the xf_user_alert and xf_thread_watch tables in the database. Not that in this case both these threads are started by the same user.. Could that be related? Users not getting alerts from posts or threads started by particular users..?

So it's not a case of just one thread. Users are going manually to the thread and reading it daily (and yes, fully) because they're not getting any alerts from them.


@ENF

List of addons used on the forum with issues:

Bb Codes & Buttons Manager
Bb Codes & Buttons Manager - Advanced Bb Codes
Bookmarks
Browser Detection (Mobile/MSIE)
Conversation Improvements
Create Resource from Forum by Waindigo
CTA Table BB Code
Custom Fields by Waindigo
FAQ Manager by Iversia
ForumBackup
ForumBackup DropBox
Ignore More by Waindigo
LiquidPro Simple Forms
Navigation Tabs by Waindigo
Nodes As Tabs
Resource Managers by Waindigo
Similar Threads
Smiley Manager
SV - rrssb
Theme Information
TinyMCE Quattro
WDB Popular Content
XenForo Media Gallery
XenForo Resource Manager
[bd] Widget Framework
[******] Custom Node Icon

 

[sgr]

It also seems there are more threads and more users who are not getting alerts consistently. I checked the 'Ignore More' addon's database and those threads are not in the ignored list either. What should I do. Any advice, @Mike? Should I upgrade to 1.5.8 from 1.5.6 in an effort to resolve this? I should probably update the addons as well. Can't see how they could be causing problems here though..

 

[Divvens]

It also seems there are more threads and more users who are not getting alerts consistently. I checked the 'Ignore More' addon's database and those threads are not in the ignored list either. What should I do. Any advice, @Mike? Should I upgrade to 1.5.8 from 1.5.6 in an effort to resolve this? I should probably update the addons as well. Can't see how they could be causing problems here though..

Alerts are sent only once per watched thread until the member reads the thread and it is marked read.

Are you sure the users who are not getting alerts for new posts on watched threads have read the thread since previous alert? If they have not, the alert will not be sent.

I.e; If thread is watched & read -> alert is sent

and

If thread is watched & unread (maybe more than 1 new reply or unread since whenever the previous watch alert was sent) -> no alert is sent

 

[Mr Lucky]

Alerts are sent only once per watched thread until the member reads the thread and it is marked read.

Are you sure the users who are not getting alerts for new posts on watched threads have read the thread since previous alert? If they have not, the alert will not be sent.

I.e; If thread is watched & read -> alert is sent

and

If thread is watched & unread (maybe more than 1 new reply or unread since whenever the previous watch alert was sent) -> no alert is sent

I get this quite often. When er someone has complained about not getting alerts, it ends up being due to having forgotten to go the the actual thread. Very easy for this to happen.

 

[Mike]

As this isn't something widespread, I'd have to recommend disabling all add-ons to test. This might require them being disabled for a while though, as the issue will relate to when replies are being made to the thread. It's possible that an unrelated add-on could be interfering due to a bug in it (leading to the normal code paths not being followed in certain cases).

 

[empire]

We're having the same issue, and nothing had changed when it started happening. We got multiple reports all at once, including one from a staff member who knows how alerts work and is certain she's missing some.

I have wondered if it could be related to Simple Forms or one of Daniel Hood's add-ons (we use Conversation/Tag Essentials) because maybe there's some kind of callback that's breaking something. I haven't updated those lately.

 

[Mr Lucky]

I get this quite often. When er someone has complained about not getting alerts, it ends up being due to having forgotten to go the the actual thread. Very easy for this to happen.

BTW, I didn't mean mean this to negate or diminish the possibility there is a actual bug or addon conflict causing a real issue.

Just saying that it happens quite frequently people (including me ) read the text in an email and then forget you didn't go to the tread.

 

[sgr]

Alerts are sent only once per watched thread until the member reads the thread and it is marked read.

Are you sure the users who are not getting alerts for new posts on watched threads have read the thread since previous alert? If they have not, the alert will not be sent.

I.e; If thread is watched & read -> alert is sent

and

If thread is watched & unread (maybe more than 1 new reply or unread since whenever the previous watch alert was sent) -> no alert is sent

The 2 users haven't been alerted even once since they started watching the thread. The database has zero alerts for those users, even though they're watching those threads. (Confirmed from xf_user_alert and xf_thread_watch).

 

[sgr]

I have wondered if it could be related to Simple Forms or one of Daniel Hood's add-ons (we use Conversation/Tag Essentials) because maybe there's some kind of callback that's breaking something. I haven't updated those lately.

I should probably update the addons as well. Mind sharing the list of addons you're using? Maybe there are common/related addons that you, @ENF and I are using which could be causing these issues..

 

[empire]

@sgr We use a lot, including some custom ones. But the ones on ENF's list that we use are:

• Conversation Essentials
• CTA Featured Threads
• Digital Point Better Analytics
• LiquidPro Simple Forms
• Live Update
• XenForo Enhanced Search
• [AD] UI.X

I updated XenForo and Live Update, but I can't tell if it fixed it.

 

[Pierce]

I'm also having this issue, have a few mods by Andyb.

The users are not getting alerts, even though they gave replied to the thread watched and UN watched the thread.

Apparently my site is notorious for not giving alerts!?

 

[Mr Lucky]

Spookily enough this just happened to me since a couple of days.

I checked my sendgrid stats, and the The culprit appears to be a blacklisted IP:

550 "JunkMail rejected - o1678912x138.outbound-mail.sendgrid.net [167.89.12.138]:34514 is in an RBL, see Blocked - see http://www.spamcop.net/bl.shtml?167.89.12.13

That blacklisted IP?


Net Range 167.89.0.0 - 167.89.127.255
CIDR 167.89.0.0/17
Name SENDGRID04
Handle NET-167-89-0-0-1