I do not understand the 'new subscriptions' functionality of v 1.8.2+
Quote from ray on April 22, 2018, 3:23 amI do not understand the ‘new subscriptions’ functionality released in v 1.8.2 and I can find no updated information in the documentation at https://asgaros.com/docs/
What is the purpose of the 3 sub headings “Individual Susbscriptions”, “New Topics” and “New Topics and Posts” ?
When i click “Individual Subscriptions” i get a list of Topics and Forums to which I have subscribed
When i click “New Topics” i get a list of Topics to which I have subscribed and a “You are subscribed to all forums” message
When i click “”New Topics and Posts”” i get a “You are subscribed to all forums” message for both topic sand forum subscriptionsThese messages suggest that I and every other member are subscribed to all topics and forums by default.
I can not allow this as it will overload my mail server.
How do I disable this subscription to all topics and forums functionality? I do not see any option to set in admin UI ‘Forum’, ‘Settings’
and when it gets disabled does the 3 sub headings “Individual Susbscriptions”, “New Topics” and “New Topics and Posts” also get removed?
Ie, I only need the list as currently being shown under “Individual Susbscriptions”.The ability to unsubscribe on the subscriptions overview page is a good feature.
I do not understand the ‘new subscriptions’ functionality released in v 1.8.2 and I can find no updated information in the documentation at https://asgaros.com/docs/
What is the purpose of the 3 sub headings “Individual Susbscriptions”, “New Topics” and “New Topics and Posts” ?
When i click “Individual Subscriptions” i get a list of Topics and Forums to which I have subscribed
When i click “New Topics” i get a list of Topics to which I have subscribed and a “You are subscribed to all forums” message
When i click “”New Topics and Posts”” i get a “You are subscribed to all forums” message for both topic sand forum subscriptions
These messages suggest that I and every other member are subscribed to all topics and forums by default.
I can not allow this as it will overload my mail server.
How do I disable this subscription to all topics and forums functionality? I do not see any option to set in admin UI ‘Forum’, ‘Settings’
and when it gets disabled does the 3 sub headings “Individual Susbscriptions”, “New Topics” and “New Topics and Posts” also get removed?
Ie, I only need the list as currently being shown under “Individual Susbscriptions”.
The ability to unsubscribe on the subscriptions overview page is a good feature.
Quote from ray on April 22, 2018, 3:28 amAs an enhancement (perhaps) I can see a limited use of notifications for all new topics for a particular forum. eg an announcement forum in a members only forum environment – such as I a have.
As an enhancement (perhaps) I can see a limited use of notifications for all new topics for a particular forum. eg an announcement forum in a members only forum environment – such as I a have.
Quote from Asgaros on April 22, 2018, 3:46 pmHello @ray
With this option every user can define for himself for what kind of stuff he wants to get notifications.
When you set the settings to:
- Individual Subscriptions: You only get notified about topics/forums you are explicitly subscribed to
- New topics: You get notifications for all new topics in all forums you can access
- New topics & posts: You get notifications for all new topics & posts in all forums you can access
This is not a global setting which is used for all users. It only affects your account.
Hello @ray
With this option every user can define for himself for what kind of stuff he wants to get notifications.
When you set the settings to:
- Individual Subscriptions: You only get notified about topics/forums you are explicitly subscribed to
- New topics: You get notifications for all new topics in all forums you can access
- New topics & posts: You get notifications for all new topics & posts in all forums you can access
This is not a global setting which is used for all users. It only affects your account.
Quote from ray on April 23, 2018, 2:37 amStill confused
1.
‘new topics’ and ‘new topics & posts’ seem to list the same things as does ‘individual subscriptions’. So therefore are redundant options
2.
“These messages suggest that I and every other member are subscribed to all topics and forums by default.
I can not allow this as it will overload my mail server.”
So are all members automatically subscribed to ALL FORUMS and ALL Topics by default?
If so then I can’t use subscriptions at all. Unfortunate and probably a deal killer as email notifications can be very useful provided they can be managed.
Still confused
1.
‘new topics’ and ‘new topics & posts’ seem to list the same things as does ‘individual subscriptions’. So therefore are redundant options
2.
“These messages suggest that I and every other member are subscribed to all topics and forums by default.
I can not allow this as it will overload my mail server.”
So are all members automatically subscribed to ALL FORUMS and ALL Topics by default?
If so then I can’t use subscriptions at all. Unfortunate and probably a deal killer as email notifications can be very useful provided they can be managed.
Quote from ray on April 23, 2018, 6:53 amHi Asgaros
1)
Well after more searching this morning I understand that my confusion is being caused by the phrases “You are subscribed to all topics” and “You are subscribed to all forums” and where they are displayed.
Attached are screen shots from my test site for the “Subscriptions” page.
“Subs – individual.jpg” shows the subscriptions to which I am subscribed in order to receive email notifications. No problem here as when a new topic or reply is created I only receive email notices for the subscriptions in this list.
“Subs -new topics.jpg” shows the correct list of topics to which I am subscribed but includes the phrase “You are subscribed to all forums” under the ‘forum subscription’ section which is NOT correct. I am only subscribed to 2 forums as listed in “Subs – individual.jpg” – I have 8 forums in 3 categories on my test site.
“Subs -new topics and posts.jpg” shows both the phrases “You are subscribed to all topics” and “You are subscribed to all forums” in their respective sections which are NOT correct as per “Subs – individual.jpg”.
2)
You also use the “New topics and Posts” term as a radio dot selection. What are ‘Posts’? I can’t see a connection between the word ‘Posts’ and any other terminology item throughout this forum product.
3)
You may also notice that in “Subs – individual.jpg” that there are two items listed and labelled as “Topic 2”. I would suggest duplication of topic subjects could well be a common occurrence in a busy forum. So I suggest the forum name also needs to displayed along with the topic subject text so that I (the forum user) can identify which topic it is that I am actually subscribed too and may then want to unsubscribe from.
4)
I also notice that if I select either ‘New topics’ or “new topic & posts” radio button and then return to one of my forums then the phase “You are subscribed to all forums” is displayed – see “Subs – electronics.jpg”
5)
I also notice that if I select “new topic & posts” radio button and then return to one of my forum topics then the phase “You are subscribed to all topics” is displayed – see “Subs – electronics2.jpg”
Hope this makes sense to you and thanks for your time.
Hi Asgaros
1)
Well after more searching this morning I understand that my confusion is being caused by the phrases “You are subscribed to all topics” and “You are subscribed to all forums” and where they are displayed.
Attached are screen shots from my test site for the “Subscriptions” page.
“Subs – individual.jpg” shows the subscriptions to which I am subscribed in order to receive email notifications. No problem here as when a new topic or reply is created I only receive email notices for the subscriptions in this list.
“Subs -new topics.jpg” shows the correct list of topics to which I am subscribed but includes the phrase “You are subscribed to all forums” under the ‘forum subscription’ section which is NOT correct. I am only subscribed to 2 forums as listed in “Subs – individual.jpg” – I have 8 forums in 3 categories on my test site.
“Subs -new topics and posts.jpg” shows both the phrases “You are subscribed to all topics” and “You are subscribed to all forums” in their respective sections which are NOT correct as per “Subs – individual.jpg”.
2)
You also use the “New topics and Posts” term as a radio dot selection. What are ‘Posts’? I can’t see a connection between the word ‘Posts’ and any other terminology item throughout this forum product.
3)
You may also notice that in “Subs – individual.jpg” that there are two items listed and labelled as “Topic 2”. I would suggest duplication of topic subjects could well be a common occurrence in a busy forum. So I suggest the forum name also needs to displayed along with the topic subject text so that I (the forum user) can identify which topic it is that I am actually subscribed too and may then want to unsubscribe from.
4)
I also notice that if I select either ‘New topics’ or “new topic & posts” radio button and then return to one of my forums then the phase “You are subscribed to all forums” is displayed – see “Subs – electronics.jpg”
5)
I also notice that if I select “new topic & posts” radio button and then return to one of my forum topics then the phase “You are subscribed to all topics” is displayed – see “Subs – electronics2.jpg”
Hope this makes sense to you and thanks for your time.
Uploaded files:
Quote from Asgaros on April 24, 2018, 6:35 pmHello @ray
So are all members automatically subscribed to ALL FORUMS and ALL Topics by default?
No, the default is “Individual Subscriptions”.
“Subs -new topics.jpg” shows the correct list of topics to which I am subscribed but includes the phrase “You are subscribed to all forums” under the ‘forum subscription’ section which is NOT correct.
Wrong. Subscribing to all topics means, that you want to get notified about all new topics. So basically it doesnt matter to which forum you are subscribed. Thats why individual forum-subscriptions are hidden when you activate this option.
You also use the “New topics and Posts” term as a radio dot selection. What are ‘Posts’? I can’t see a connection between the word ‘Posts’ and any other terminology item throughout this forum product.
A forum-post is an answer in an existing topic – like this post from me which you are currently reading.
I also notice that if I select “new topic & posts” radio button and then return to one of my forum topics then the phase “You are subscribed to all topics” is displayed – see “Subs – electronics2.jpg”
This is correct because it subscribes you to every forum and topic.
Maybe I can change the strings a little bit to make things more clear.
Hello @ray
So are all members automatically subscribed to ALL FORUMS and ALL Topics by default?
No, the default is “Individual Subscriptions”.
“Subs -new topics.jpg” shows the correct list of topics to which I am subscribed but includes the phrase “You are subscribed to all forums” under the ‘forum subscription’ section which is NOT correct.
Wrong. Subscribing to all topics means, that you want to get notified about all new topics. So basically it doesnt matter to which forum you are subscribed. Thats why individual forum-subscriptions are hidden when you activate this option.
You also use the “New topics and Posts” term as a radio dot selection. What are ‘Posts’? I can’t see a connection between the word ‘Posts’ and any other terminology item throughout this forum product.
A forum-post is an answer in an existing topic – like this post from me which you are currently reading.
I also notice that if I select “new topic & posts” radio button and then return to one of my forum topics then the phase “You are subscribed to all topics” is displayed – see “Subs – electronics2.jpg”
This is correct because it subscribes you to every forum and topic.
Maybe I can change the strings a little bit to make things more clear.
Quote from ray on April 25, 2018, 2:47 am“So are all members automatically subscribed to ALL FORUMS and ALL Topics by default?
No, the default is “Individual Subscriptions”.“
Great – exactly what I want (by default). But I agree the phrasing need to change as I still don’t understand what you mean by them.
eg “Wrong. Subscribing to all topics means, that you want to get notified about all new topics. So basically it doesnt matter to which forum you are subscribed.” Then instead of “You are subscribed to all forums/topics” message it should list all the forums/topics on the site that I am able to subscribe too (so i can unsubscribe from a forum or topic if I want). That is, it should not list a forum if the access rules of ‘membership of a user group’ that apply to my login do not allow me to see/read that forum. ( On my test site I have a category and forum which is available to ONLY SOME members so it should not be listed unless the have access to it)
“Thats why individual forum-subscriptions are hidden when you activate this option.” So how do I (as a logged in forum member) subscribe to “all forums” or “all topics”. I can’t see anywhere to do that (even when logged in as a site administrator). And my site doesn’t use user profiles (anywhere on my site) so if the option to activate is located here then my members wouldn’t be able to activate it anyway (which I don’t want anyway as below).
Also if “ the default is “Individual Subscriptions” and “Thats why individual forum-subscriptions are hidden when you activate this option.” are the defaults why do I see the three radio button choices on the subscription page”. I haven’t activated the “subscriptions to all forums/topics” registration option in my forum as I can’t find a site admin forum setting that allows me to do so. So those three buttons should not be visible as two of them are optional and not default.
I (as site admin) need to be able disable “all forums ” and “all topics” subscriptions so I can manage the number of emails my email server has to process/send (all email servers have limits before they start rejecting delivery and if my wordpress site continually exceeds these limits then my sending email address will be blacklisted and, in the extreme, my domain may be become registered as a source of SPAM and the sending of emails from my site will not be allowed at all)
“So are all members automatically subscribed to ALL FORUMS and ALL Topics by default?
No, the default is “Individual Subscriptions”.“
Great – exactly what I want (by default). But I agree the phrasing need to change as I still don’t understand what you mean by them.
eg “Wrong. Subscribing to all topics means, that you want to get notified about all new topics. So basically it doesnt matter to which forum you are subscribed.” Then instead of “You are subscribed to all forums/topics” message it should list all the forums/topics on the site that I am able to subscribe too (so i can unsubscribe from a forum or topic if I want). That is, it should not list a forum if the access rules of ‘membership of a user group’ that apply to my login do not allow me to see/read that forum. ( On my test site I have a category and forum which is available to ONLY SOME members so it should not be listed unless the have access to it)
“Thats why individual forum-subscriptions are hidden when you activate this option.” So how do I (as a logged in forum member) subscribe to “all forums” or “all topics”. I can’t see anywhere to do that (even when logged in as a site administrator). And my site doesn’t use user profiles (anywhere on my site) so if the option to activate is located here then my members wouldn’t be able to activate it anyway (which I don’t want anyway as below).
Also if “ the default is “Individual Subscriptions” and “Thats why individual forum-subscriptions are hidden when you activate this option.” are the defaults why do I see the three radio button choices on the subscription page”. I haven’t activated the “subscriptions to all forums/topics” registration option in my forum as I can’t find a site admin forum setting that allows me to do so. So those three buttons should not be visible as two of them are optional and not default.
I (as site admin) need to be able disable “all forums ” and “all topics” subscriptions so I can manage the number of emails my email server has to process/send (all email servers have limits before they start rejecting delivery and if my wordpress site continually exceeds these limits then my sending email address will be blacklisted and, in the extreme, my domain may be become registered as a source of SPAM and the sending of emails from my site will not be allowed at all)
Quote from Asgaros on April 25, 2018, 10:49 amHello @ray
Then instead of “You are subscribed to all forums/topics” message it should list all the forums/topics on the site that I am able to subscribe too (so i can unsubscribe from a forum or topic if I want).
But that would be a contradiction. You cannot be subscribed to all forums and also be unsubscribed from certain forums. In this case you are not subscribed to all forums anymore. If you only want to subscribe to specific forums, you should use “Individual Subscriptions” so you can subscribe to the forums for which you want to get notifications.
That is, it should not list a forum if the access rules of ‘membership of a user group’ that apply to my login do not allow me to see/read that forum.
The “Subscribe to all forums”-option only subscribes you to those forums, which are accessible to you.
So how do I (as a logged in forum member) subscribe to “all forums” or “all topics”.
Go to the subscriptions-overview and select “New topics” or “New topics & posts”.
Also if “ the default is “Individual Subscriptions” and “Thats why individual forum-subscriptions are hidden when you activate this option.”
This is completely wrong.
You can activate Individual Subscriptions. Which this option you can enter topics or forums and subscribe to them.
When you activate “New topics” you are subscribed to all forums, so the individual subscriptions for forums are ignored (nobody cares if you are subscribed to forum A, B, if you are subscribed to all forums anyway).
When you activate “New topics & posts” you are subscribed to all forums & topics, so the individual subscriptions for forums and topics are ignored.
I (as site admin) need to be able disable “all forums ” and “all topics” subscriptions so I can manage the number of emails my email server has to process/send (all email servers have limits before they start rejecting delivery and if my wordpress site continually exceeds these limits then my sending email address will be blacklisted and, in the extreme, my domain may be become registered as a source of SPAM and the sending of emails from my site will not be allowed at all)
I dont see any reason why those options should get removed. Even when those options would be not there, your users could just manually subscribe themself to all forums and topics. In this case, the load for your mail-server would be exactly the same.
Hello @ray
Then instead of “You are subscribed to all forums/topics” message it should list all the forums/topics on the site that I am able to subscribe too (so i can unsubscribe from a forum or topic if I want).
But that would be a contradiction. You cannot be subscribed to all forums and also be unsubscribed from certain forums. In this case you are not subscribed to all forums anymore. If you only want to subscribe to specific forums, you should use “Individual Subscriptions” so you can subscribe to the forums for which you want to get notifications.
That is, it should not list a forum if the access rules of ‘membership of a user group’ that apply to my login do not allow me to see/read that forum.
The “Subscribe to all forums”-option only subscribes you to those forums, which are accessible to you.
So how do I (as a logged in forum member) subscribe to “all forums” or “all topics”.
Go to the subscriptions-overview and select “New topics” or “New topics & posts”.
Also if “ the default is “Individual Subscriptions” and “Thats why individual forum-subscriptions are hidden when you activate this option.”
This is completely wrong.
You can activate Individual Subscriptions. Which this option you can enter topics or forums and subscribe to them.
When you activate “New topics” you are subscribed to all forums, so the individual subscriptions for forums are ignored (nobody cares if you are subscribed to forum A, B, if you are subscribed to all forums anyway).
When you activate “New topics & posts” you are subscribed to all forums & topics, so the individual subscriptions for forums and topics are ignored.
I (as site admin) need to be able disable “all forums ” and “all topics” subscriptions so I can manage the number of emails my email server has to process/send (all email servers have limits before they start rejecting delivery and if my wordpress site continually exceeds these limits then my sending email address will be blacklisted and, in the extreme, my domain may be become registered as a source of SPAM and the sending of emails from my site will not be allowed at all)
I dont see any reason why those options should get removed. Even when those options would be not there, your users could just manually subscribe themself to all forums and topics. In this case, the load for your mail-server would be exactly the same.
Quote from ray on April 25, 2018, 12:53 pmok I think I have got the logic you are following.
1)
The key things are
“Go to the subscriptions-overview and select “New topics” or “New topics & posts”.”
“When you activate “New topics” you are subscribed to all forums, so the individual subscriptions for forums are ignored (nobody cares if you are subscribed to forum A, B, if you are subscribed to all forums anyway).
When you activate “New topics & posts” you are subscribed to all forums & topics, so the individual subscriptions for forums and topics are ignored.“
which is an unusual (for me anyway) way of approaching things. So I now see that I (as a forum member) activate these “bulk subscription” options by selecting either of these two options as per your definitions above.
I don’t see this information in the subscriptions documentation at https://asgaros.com/docs/users-guide/responses-and-subscriptions so I guess the documentation update is progress.
2)
“I dont see any reason why those options should get removed. Even when those options would be not there, your users could just manually subscribe themself to all forums and topics. In this case, the load for your mail-server would be exactly the same.”
I agree the outcome would be the same but I would expect most people would not take the time and effort to manually subscribe to everything. Then I still might get away with not exceeding mail server limits for some time depending on my web host server rules.
3)
“The “Subscribe to all forums”-option only subscribes you to those forums, which are accessible to you” – that’s good but again not documented as far as I can see.
I think my solution will either be to not activate subscriptions at all or use css to hide the “bulk subscription” section of the subscriptions page so my members don’t get to see they exist. I’m leaning towards not activating subscriptions at all and then later maybe using daily/weekly excerpts summary type emails that I see others have requested be added as a feature. Perhaps a RSS feed using the MailChimp to send WordPress blog posts by email feature might be worth considering.
Thanks for your detailed replies.
ok I think I have got the logic you are following.
1)
The key things are
“Go to the subscriptions-overview and select “New topics” or “New topics & posts”.”
“When you activate “New topics” you are subscribed to all forums, so the individual subscriptions for forums are ignored (nobody cares if you are subscribed to forum A, B, if you are subscribed to all forums anyway).
When you activate “New topics & posts” you are subscribed to all forums & topics, so the individual subscriptions for forums and topics are ignored.“
which is an unusual (for me anyway) way of approaching things. So I now see that I (as a forum member) activate these “bulk subscription” options by selecting either of these two options as per your definitions above.
I don’t see this information in the subscriptions documentation at https://asgaros.com/docs/users-guide/responses-and-subscriptions so I guess the documentation update is progress.
2)
“I dont see any reason why those options should get removed. Even when those options would be not there, your users could just manually subscribe themself to all forums and topics. In this case, the load for your mail-server would be exactly the same.”
I agree the outcome would be the same but I would expect most people would not take the time and effort to manually subscribe to everything. Then I still might get away with not exceeding mail server limits for some time depending on my web host server rules.
3)
“The “Subscribe to all forums”-option only subscribes you to those forums, which are accessible to you” – that’s good but again not documented as far as I can see.
I think my solution will either be to not activate subscriptions at all or use css to hide the “bulk subscription” section of the subscriptions page so my members don’t get to see they exist. I’m leaning towards not activating subscriptions at all and then later maybe using daily/weekly excerpts summary type emails that I see others have requested be added as a feature. Perhaps a RSS feed using the MailChimp to send WordPress blog posts by email feature might be worth considering.
Thanks for your detailed replies.
Quote from Asgaros on April 25, 2018, 4:09 pmHello @ray
I added a new section to the documentation. I hope things are more clear now. 🙂
If you want, it should be no problem to hide the entire subscription management-settings-box via css. I also plan to add rss-feeds for forums and topics in a future release.
Hello @ray
I added a new section to the documentation. I hope things are more clear now. 🙂
If you want, it should be no problem to hide the entire subscription management-settings-box via css. I also plan to add rss-feeds for forums and topics in a future release.