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TODO List [message #4030] Fri, 12 July 2002 17:05 Go to next message
Ilia is currently offline  Ilia   Canada
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There is a major feature that I am considering implementing in FUDforum, mailing list integration. This feature would allow you to have FUDforum messages from a particular forum be automatically posted to a mailing list and inturn messages posted on the mailing list would be mirrored back to FUDforum.

Since I am still in the 'research' stage of the development of this feature I would appriciate any feedback/comments.


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Re: TODO List [message #4035 is a reply to message #4030] Fri, 12 July 2002 20:26 Go to previous messageGo to next message
basse is currently offline  basse   Finland
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It is an interesting concept indeed. A couple of questions:

Is this feature possible only if the mailing list runs on the same server?

Exactly how does the forum now when a new message has arrived? In what way is it injected?

Does every message from a certain list end up in the same forum or can they be sorted in some way? I know many lists where multiple topics are discussed.

These are something to start with, I'm certain more questions will follow.
Re: TODO List [message #4037 is a reply to message #4035] Fri, 12 July 2002 20:54 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ilia is currently offline  Ilia   Canada
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basse wrote on Fri, 12 July 2002 16:26

Is this feature possible only if the mailing list runs on the same server?

Exactly how does the forum now when a new message has arrived? In what way is it injected?



Not necessarily, the message from the forum would be sent via normal email, I'd imagine. The messages from the mailing list would be 'injected' using something call procmail. Please note I am not entirely sure how procmail works yet Razz

Quote:


Does every message from a certain list end up in the same forum or can they be sorted in some way? I know many lists where multiple topics are discussed.



1 forum (as in forum entry) == 1 mailing list

So, you will be able to archive multiple mailing lists using a single forum installation.


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Re: TODO List [message #4060 is a reply to message #4037] Sat, 13 July 2002 05:05 Go to previous messageGo to next message
basse is currently offline  basse   Finland
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Den fre, 12 juli 2002 23:54 skrev prottoss:


Not necessarily, the message from the forum would be sent via normal email, I'd imagine. The messages from the mailing list would be 'injected' using something call procmail. Please note I am not entirely sure how procmail works yet Razz


This would require access to procmail on the server that's running the forum. I know this might not be very easy to do, but isn't it possible that there is some way of doing this that wouldn't require procmail or cron? I for one would appreciate a clean, php-only solution.

Quote:

1 forum (as in forum entry) == 1 mailing list

So, you will be able to archive multiple mailing lists using a single forum installation.



What I wanted was actually the opposite : filtering of messages into different forum entries. Might be hard to do properly...
Re: TODO List [message #4449 is a reply to message #4030] Fri, 26 July 2002 22:51 Go to previous messageGo to next message
s03nk3   Germany
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Maybe there should be a possibility to get mails directly from a POP3 or IMAP account, as most users don't have access to Cron or Procmail.

You could trigger the reading of the mail account by a transparent 1x1 gif "webbug" or a redirector script every few minutes (e.g. if mail has not been read the last 5min, then get it now).
Querying the mail server slows down display a a page, but is only done every few minutes and most likely on different forum users.

Care should be taken to ensure that mails have been read completely.

BTW: There are a few other points in FUD's design where you hadn't the average user in mind - e.g. when rebuilding search index and compacting messages - because most providers restrict run duration of a script to a few seconds. You should change this to a step-by-step iteration - only process a small part while within allowed execution time, the reload script and do another part.
Re: TODO List [message #4456 is a reply to message #4449] Sat, 27 July 2002 04:55 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ilia is currently offline  Ilia   Canada
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s03nk3 wrote on Fri, 26 July 2002 18:51

Maybe there should be a possibility to get mails directly from a POP3 or IMAP account, as most users don't have access to Cron or Procmail.
You could trigger the reading of the mail account by a transparent 1x1 gif "webbug" or a redirector script every few minutes (e.g. if mail has not been read the last 5min, then get it now).
Querying the mail server slows down display a a page, but is only done every few minutes and most likely on different forum users.



Procmail does not require root access nor does it require access to cront, all you need as an email account and the avaliability of the procmail utility on the server. Heck, you do not even need a shell account. If you provider does not offer procmail, consider switching to a different provider if you intend to archive maling lists.
IMAP/POP3 are damn slow as far as message retrieval go and 1x1 pixel thing is also extremely slow and nearly impossible to keep account of.

Quote:


BTW: There are a few other points in FUD's design where you hadn't the average user in mind - e.g. when rebuilding search index and compacting messages - because most providers restrict run duration of a script to a few seconds. You should change this to a step-by-step iteration - only process a small part while within allowed execution time, the reload script and do another part.


Hmm valid point, I'll see what can be done about those.


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Re: TODO List [message #4462 is a reply to message #4456] Sat, 27 July 2002 08:37 Go to previous messageGo to next message
SunLord is currently offline  SunLord   United States
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Gettign procmail working wiht qmail isn't simple as it is wiht sendmail... unless i'm a total idiot but shrug
Re: TODO List [message #4464 is a reply to message #4030] Sat, 27 July 2002 13:01 Go to previous messageGo to next message
s03nk3   Germany
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If you're hosting the board on a dedicated server, there shurely is Procmail and Crond.

But only a minority of users have this setup.
As I said most users have a simple Webhosting solution with Webspace, PHP, MySQL and - if it is one of the better ISPs - the possibility to access the account interactively via SSH and run a few cron jobs once a day.

No chance to run daemons, no scripts running more than a few seconds, no /etc/aliases access, no local MBox piped through Procmail, no unrestriced crontabs, no ...

You have to take this into account if you aim your software at a wide range of people.

I know, best solution ist to set up an email alias in /etc/aliases and pipe the mail directly through a (maybe procmail) script, but that's not the point.
Re: TODO List [message #4468 is a reply to message #4462] Sat, 27 July 2002 14:03 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ilia is currently offline  Ilia   Canada
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SunLord wrote on Sat, 27 July 2002 04:37

Gettign procmail working wiht qmail isn't simple as it is wiht sendmail... unless i'm a total idiot but shrug


Actually it depends on your mail storage format, either way it is pretty easy to setup the are numberous online tutorial on how to do it.


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Re: TODO List [message #4469 is a reply to message #4464] Sat, 27 July 2002 14:29 Go to previous message
Ilia is currently offline  Ilia   Canada
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s03nk3 wrote on Sat, 27 July 2002 09:01

If you're hosting the board on a dedicated server, there shurely is Procmail and Crond.

But only a minority of users have this setup.
As I said most users have a simple Webhosting solution with Webspace, PHP, MySQL and - if it is one of the better ISPs - the possibility to access the account interactively via SSH and run a few cron jobs once a day.



I've had to deal with a large number of people who are virtual hosting. Many who do not have SSH/Telnet accounts have control panels that do offer access to crontab. I've done a check and nearly every <$10/month account had web crontab control panel. Many $15-$20/month accounts has SSH/Telnet access, so as I've been saying before if your ISP does not have those features consider switching, you are not getting a good deal for your money.

Procmail is not a deamon, it requires nothing of that sort. It is executed by the system mail delivery mechanism such as qmail or sendmail. It parses incomming messages for certain strings and if message patches, it pipes it to a php script. Nothing complex, no need for anything special, heck you can set it up by just uploading 2 config files via your trusty FTP client.

Quote:


You have to take this into account if you aim your software at a wide range of people.



Sure, however if you want advanced features, you will need certain basic tools. I mean consider, people without PHP in their accounts won't be able to use the forum at all.


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