pilotdave 0 #1 October 13, 2004 So my website has a bug I haven't been able to figure out. When people register for an account, the site sends them an activation email. Problem is, some people never get the email. I'm assuming some mail servers treat it as spam and delete it. So I put together a script that looks up everyone that hasn't activated their account and lets me send myself their activation email so that I can forward it to them from my own, reliable, yahoo account. It's actually a pain in the butt, but sure beats the way I had to do it before I wrote the script. Now hotmail is the worst offender. Probably 50% of users that sign up with hotmail accounts don't get the activation email. So I put a big bold note on the registration page that says not to use a hotmail account. You wouldn't believe how many people sign up with hotmail accounts anyway. Guess what? When they don't get the email, I ignore em. They've been warned. Then there are a lot of email accounts that bounce. Today, one guy signed up with 3 or 4 variations of a yahoo account. All bounced. Happens all the time. And people need to type in their address twice to make sure they get it right. People seriously don't know their own freaking email address. Lots of em. Some people are definitely trying to use fake email addresses too. It says right there that they will be getting an activation email. WTF is wrong with people? So do you know your email address? Do you have an email account other than hotmail? GRRRRRRRR. Ahhhh I feel better now... Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildblue 7 #2 October 13, 2004 Do you have a reverse DNS entry for the domain the email comes from? A lot of places now are just plain blocking the email with no NDR if it can't do a reverse look-up on where it came from.it's like incest - you're substituting convenience for quality Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 1 #3 October 13, 2004 I've about six email addresses. Plus the dz.com one. I have a yahoo email address I use specifically to register with sites I don't completely trust. As to spam issues, check the IP address of your mail server here: http://rbls.org/. If it doesn't ring any alarm bells, modifying the text of your confirmation email will almost certainly help. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slurp56 0 #4 October 13, 2004 *Raises Hand* My hotmail account didnt recieve the confirmation.... I clicked submit (as I am a pro at filling out forms without reading them). Only after I clicked submit did I realize your message about hotmail accounts. I clicked back and entered my yahoo mail.________________________________________ I have proof-read this post 500 times, but I guarantee you'll still manage to find a flaw. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyyhi 0 #5 October 13, 2004 Okay, so I read the warning and signed up using hotmail anyway. I did get my e-mail to activate my account, but it is delivered to my junk mail folder. No problem. . .I just found it there and activated. . . Works like a charm. . .I am willing to bet that people don't check their junkmail folders. . .I also told my hotmail account that e-mail from skydiving movies is not junk. . . Geez, not too hard to figure out. . .________________________________________ Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ FGF #6 Darcy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zee 0 #6 October 13, 2004 Are ya gettin' a little frustrated there, Dave? That must really suck knowing you can't send them the "asshat" email since you don't even have their correct address Keep up the good work, Dave - Peace, Z Action©Sports Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #7 October 13, 2004 Naah, it's not just the junk mail folder thing. Some people really never get it. I'm sure some have full inboxes too, but not everyone. Some yahoo users never get it. I always get the emails within seconds. Even to my hotmail account. Guess I'm just lucky. Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyingferret 0 #8 October 13, 2004 Can also check here: http://ordb.net/ Typically it is a lock of reverse DNS as mentioned. Or your email server is listed as an open relay. QuoteAn open mail relay occurs when a mail server processes a mail message where neither the sender nor the recipient is a local user. In this example, both the sender and the recipient are outside the local domain (or rather, the local IP range, for the technically inclined). The mail server is an entirely unrelated third party to this transaction. The message really has no business passing through this server. Any good sysadmin will disallow mail based on a list of open relays.-- All the flaming and trolls of wreck dot with a pretty GUI. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 1 #9 October 13, 2004 Good point. I completely forgot about that . Edit: my confirmation mail (sent early Aug '04) arrived from an IP address that has no reverse DNS address. At least, so says http://remote.12dt.com/rns/. That'd be it then. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BGill 0 #10 October 13, 2004 Quote have a yahoo email address I use specifically to register with sites I don't completely trust. yeah i wouldnt trust dave's site either... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nate_1979 9 #11 October 13, 2004 This is why I have my own email server I get to make all my own rules! FGF #??? I miss the sky... There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 1 #12 October 13, 2004 Smartarse yank! Go pack my rig, bitch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 1 #13 October 13, 2004 Actually, while you're here: Bug Report 1- Obtain a link to a specific movie on the site. 2- Click the link. 3- If not logged in, you're presented with a login dialog. 4- Enter details and click login. 5- You're directed to the default page rather than that of the movie you clicked on. On occasion it's a right pain in the arse. Any chance of a fix mate? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
uncaged 0 #14 October 13, 2004 If ya want a Gmail account, I got some... let me know When the going gets weird, The weird turn pro... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #15 October 13, 2004 That's not a bug, thats my way of being an ass! Just kidding. Sounds like a good project to work on. I'll see what I can do. Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adamjenner 0 #16 October 13, 2004 freefly.freak@gmail.com adam_jenner2002@yahoo.com adamjenner@dropzone.com then there's my hotmail account but other than that those are my e-mails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #17 October 13, 2004 I almost never put real email addresses for registration pages - unless I know who's running it. :) If the site requires email validation, then I'll use one of my old seldom used email accounts - accounts I haven't used in years. I've seen the same behaviour that you do on sites that I used to run - people really don't like giving up their email addresses unless they've got a good reason - unless the process they're involved in requires email. I suspect people have trouble remembering their email addresses because they're giving you seldom used, throwaway accounts. My question to you, is simple. Why is collecting email addresses a key requirement to downloading videos? _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fast 0 #18 October 13, 2004 My questions is... Are you using your own SMTP server to send out the mail? If you are you should consider setting up the system to forward through a smart host. I have a linux box that sits at home and allows incoming SMTP with authentication and then sends it out through my ISP (Road Runner) the reason I did this is when I am not at home with my laptop its nice to not have to mess with smtp settings. It all just goes through home first. I was having problems with people not getting emails from a site of mine and from me as well. So I now send everything through a bonified SMTP server. This pretty much cleared up all the problems. Most major ISPs block incoming mail from Dynamic IPs.~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #19 October 13, 2004 Originally I didn't like the registration idea. But it really helps cut down on bandwidth usage. So basically an annoying registration process filters out all the people that aren't THAT interested to see what's inside, plus a few that are, as bonus. Originally registration was going to be required to upload only. But that would really discourage uploading. So I decided to discourage downloading too. j/k Seriously though, when a bug allowed a video to be directly linked from another site, over 9000 people downloaded the file in a day, causing major server problems. Registration keeps that stuff to a minimum. Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #20 October 13, 2004 QuoteActually, while you're here: Bug Report 1- Obtain a link to a specific movie on the site. 2- Click the link. 3- If not logged in, you're presented with a login dialog. 4- Enter details and click login. 5- You're directed to the default page rather than that of the movie you clicked on. On occasion it's a right pain in the arse. Any chance of a fix mate? All fixed. You'll be sent right to the video page when you log in. Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 1 #21 October 13, 2004 That's lovely customer service. Thanks mate. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mcrocker 0 #22 October 13, 2004 QuoteGood point. I completely forgot about that . Edit: my confirmation mail (sent early Aug '04) arrived from an IP address that has no reverse DNS address. At least, so says http://remote.12dt.com/rns/. That'd be it then. OOOOOPS My bad. That is all fixed now www.skydivingmovies.com -> sdm.crocker.com -> 204.97.12.49 -> sdm.crocker.com now I didn't have a PTR record, you'd think that after doing this for 10 years I would remember that part. www.skydivingmovies.com. 86400 IN CNAME sdm.crocker.com. sdm.crocker.com. 600 IN A 204.97.12.49 49.12.97.204.in-addr.arpa. 86400 IN PTR sdm.crocker.com. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mcrocker 0 #23 October 13, 2004 QuoteMy questions is... Most major ISPs block incoming mail from Dynamic IPs. www.skydivingmovies.com is not on a dynamic IP. It is running its own SMTP server for delivery. I suppose I could relay it through my smart host but that isn't really necessary. The PTR record didn't exist until about 5 minutes ago. That was probably the largest problem. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mcrocker 0 #24 October 14, 2004 Quote Seriously though, when a bug allowed a video to be directly linked from another site, over 9000 people downloaded the file in a day, causing major server problems. Registration keeps that stuff to a minimum. Dave Dave, You can stop the registration requirements if you want, I've rate-limited the site now so it won't melt the network the next time 9k people download a vid. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #25 October 14, 2004 Wow I guess I shoulda just asked about the email problem, huh? And stop the registrations? But Precision Aerodyamics said they won't buy my email list till I have 10,000 addresses! (Yes, that was a joke!) I still like requiring registration, but maybe we can do something about email verification. Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
