Not a bug XF 2.18: usergroup settings for email to users are ignored

snoopy5

Well-known member
Affected version
2.18/2.19
Hi

in contrast to XF 1.5.24, the usergroup settings in XF 2.18 do not stay the way the admin configures them after the email is send out.

They reset each time afterwards automatically - So if you do not change that each time for each newsletter new, the massmailing goes to EVERYBODY, no matter whether it is a invalid email address, a banned users etc.

This does not mnake sense at all and is a high risk for beeing blacklisted, if you forget to change this each time before you send emails out. Ple

Where can we fix this ourselves immediatley in the code?


email_users_usergroups_bug.webp
 
The behaviour now is identical to how it was in XF 1.5, I just tested it to be sure.

If you saw a different behaviour in XF 1.5 then it is likely you had an add-on installed that was causing that difference in behaviour.

Ultimately whenever you go to "Email users" you have to set it up each time exactly how you want it. The same way when you go to "Search users" you have to set that up each time exactly how you want it. We do not attempt to save the settings you used previously.
 
I am not aware that a plugin exists, that changes this behaviour in XF 1.5.24 I have many XF 1.5x boards and on none of them the settings are changed automatically after I changed it.

I am sorry but I do not think that it is logical and ok, that xenforo falls always back in a stadard setting, in which users get emails sent, who explicitely do not want to get emails or users, which do not have valid emails anymore.

If you code a software this way, we get into deep trouble with GDPR just because of this automatism.

If you want to have an "fall back automatism", it would then make a lot more sense, if all usergroups would be unmarked, so you have to check a usergroup, otherwhise no email gets sent out. Nobody would get hurt this way.

What shall be the advantage of the current setting in the code?
 
Unless I've totally misunderstood what you're reporting, XF 1.5 and XF 2.1 behave exactly the same and I would invite you to check again, as I have, to confirm.

In case I am misunderstanding perhaps you can explain the exact process you follow in both versions and the specific settings you choose in case there is some nuance to your expectations I haven't taken into consideration.

But, aside from that, it is just simply the fact that a number of reasonable defaults are selected on the "Email users" screen and whenever you visit that screen those defaults are displayed.

Nothing is automatically changed, you are just displayed the defaults for the form.
 
But, aside from that, it is just simply the fact that a number of reasonable defaults are selected on the "Email users" screen and whenever you visit that screen those defaults are displayed.

Is it reasonably to sent emails to users who forbid us to do that?

ALL usergroups are selected automatically. This is NOT reasonable.
 
Well, we'd have to agree to disagree on that because a user's group membership is not intended to imply consent one way or another to receive emails or not.

By default the form will only send emails to those users who have opted in to receive news and update emails:

1588537487911.webp
 
Look at the screenshot in my first postings. There are at least 7 user status who should definitely NOT get emails anymore.

  • Awaiting email confirmation
  • Awaiting email confirmation (from edit)
  • Email invalid (bounced)
  • Awaiting moderation
  • Rejected
  • Disabled
  • Banned

Where is the benefit to have them all automatically checked?
 
They are just the defaults of the form and the form is shared with "Search users" where those defaults are appropriate.

It is true these aren't selected by default in XF 1.5 in all cases, but that was just the default behaviour of XF 1.5 and nothing is being "automatically reset" as you claimed.
 
Due to the potentially unexpected change of defaults in XF 2.x vs XF 1.x I've opened up a new bug report that sufficiently explains the situation and we will see if it can be changed.
 
where those defaults are appropriate

That is the point. They are NOT appropriate.

Otherwise you can also check automatiocally everything else. Why not the same here:

email_bug2.jpg

Why is nothing checked here than, if this is so appropriate? Because it is not logical to do that to avoid mistakes. So why then in the user statuses?

Why not just aknowledging that this is not a good idea and fixing it asap, instead of arguing with no logical arguments? Sorry to say this.


and nothing is being "automatically reset" as you claimed.

It is indeed "reset" each time after a mailing and this was not the case with XF 1.5. There is a reason why it was in XF 1.5 differently.

Because it does not make sense, that if I change these setting once for my mass mailings in ACP, that Xenforo decides to change these settings after that again.

Shall I now check every setting in ACP for each feature whether it is still there the next day?

Or do you want now to convince everybody that the XF1.5x way was a wrong way and it is a good idea to send emails to invalid email addresses?

One of my forums got blacklisted because of that and I had to figure out for hours why this happened at all. This is not amusing!
 
I will standby all comments I made in this thread. Nothing is reset automatically or otherwise and the behaviour itself is identical in the two versions.

The only difference is the value of the defaults.

Also, you can't simply pick 5 words out of a post to prove your point. Nothing I said was inaccurate. The defaults on the form ARE appropriate for searching for users. It is simply questionable as to whether they are appropriate for emailing users, hence why a more accurate report has been opened where this will be looked into.
 
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