ezMLM confirmation message too complex?

[MikeGnitecki]

I have a sign-up box for my ezMLM-managed mailing list on my web-site. Whenever a user subscribes through the web-site, my CGI script sends an e-mail to [mailing list]-subscribe-[username]=[isp]@mlm.[my domain], and Bccs it to me, so I can see all subscribe requests. At that point ezMLM e-mails the user asking him to confirm the subscribe. I noticed that the users often didn't confirm the subscribe, though. Here's the confirmation message that ezMLM usually sends (with my list name and other information removed by me):

Hi! This is the ezmlm program. I'm managing the[list name]@mlm.[my domain] mailing list.


To confirm that you would like


[user's e-mail address]


added to this mailing list, please send an empty reply to this address:

[list name]-sc.997978211.djikgkieebpnobphnncg-[username]=[isp]@mlm.[my domain]


Your mailer should have a Reply feature that uses this address automatically.


This confirmation serves two purposes. First, it verifies that I am able
to get mail through to you. Second, it protects you in case someone
forges a subscription request in your name.



--- Here are the ezmlm command addresses.


I can handle administrative requests automatically.
Just send an empty note to any of these addresses:


<[list name]-subscribe@mlm.[my domain]>:
Receive future messages sent to the mailing list.


<[list name]-unsubscribe@mlm.[my domain]>:
Stop receiving messages.


<[list name]-get.12345@mlm.[my domain]>:
Retrieve a copy of message 12345 from the archive.


DO NOT SEND ADMINISTRATIVE REQUESTS TO THE MAILING LIST!
If you do, I won't see them, and subscribers will yell at you.


To specify God@heaven.af.mil as your subscription address, send mail
to <[list name]-subscribe-God=heaven.af.mil@mlm.[my domain]>.
I'll send a confirmation message to that address; when you receive that
message, simply reply to it to complete your subscription.



--- Below this line is a copy of the request I received.


[email headers]

That's a bit complex and long, isn't it? Here's what I changed it to:

Hello. I'm the mailing list service for the [list name]@mlm.[my domain] mailing list.


To confirm that you would like


[user's e-mail address]


added to this mailing list, simply reply to this e-mail, or
you can send an e-mail to:

[list name]-sc.1008082612.djljkjjdfppfnaeghccj-[username]=[isp]@mlm.[my domain]




--- Below this line is a copy of the request I received.


[email headers]

This seems to be a lot easier to understand, and a lot shorter. I haven't done any scientific tests, but the users seem to now confirm the subscribe requests a lot more.

Has anyone else seen a lack of confirmations? Has anyone had better or worse results by changing (simplifying) the confirmation message?

[SusanHorizons]

I also revised the text files for the outgoing correspondence from ez-mlm because I thought they were less than friendly. We have over 120 discussion lists for people in communities all over the world, most of whom don't speak English as their first language. So, the wording has to be very clear. They subscribe via a form on our site, the form and explanation is translated into several languages.

Then ez-mlm takes over. One of our concerns about the double-opt-in process is that folks might not understand that they have to reply and confirm the subscription.

My question is: how does one find out if this is in fact happening? Is there a file somewhere which tells you who has subscribed but not confirmed? Does ez-mlm send a follow-up message to anyone who hasn't confirmed in some reasonable time period - say 10 days?

OR do we have an unknown number of people who THINK they've subscribed but because they didn't understand the process haven't actually subscribed?

Could you send me a copy of the scripts etc. you use which sends you a bcc when someone subscribes? We're not strong on Perl.

Thanks
Susan

BTW, single opt in vs. double opt in has been a topic of interest lately.
http://ezine-tips.com/articles/format/20020108.shtml and http://ezine-tips.com/articles/format/20020107.shtml

[MikeGnitecki]

I also revised the text files for the outgoing correspondence from ez-mlm because I thought they were less than friendly. We have over 120 discussion lists for people in communities all over the world, most of whom don't speak English as their first language. So, the wording has to be very clear. They subscribe via a form on our site, the form and explanation is translated into several languages.

That's a good idea.

Then ez-mlm takes over. One of our concerns about the double-opt-in process is that folks might not understand that they have to reply and confirm the subscription.

Yes, I faced that problem. Users confirmed the subscription a much higher percentage of the time once I revised the confirmation message.

My question is: how does one find out if this is in fact happening? Is there a file somewhere which tells you who has subscribed but not confirmed? Does ez-mlm send a follow-up message to anyone who hasn't confirmed in some reasonable time period - say 10 days?

MLM does not send any follow-up messages. I also don't believe that there's an easy way to know who tried to subscribe but didn't confirm. But the script that I wrote should be able to help you with that.

OR do we have an unknown number of people who THINK they've subscribed but because they didn't understand the process haven't actually subscribed?

In my case, the users probably either lost interest in subscribing (their original subscribe-attempt may have been impulsive), or they didn't know that they had to confirm. Or, the confirmation message may have just confused them.

Could you send me a copy of the scripts etc. you use which sends you a bcc when someone subscribes? We're not strong on Perl.

Sure, no problem. I'm going off-line for a couple of hours now, but I'll try to get that e-mailed to you this evening. Could you give me your e-mail address?

-Mike Gnitecki

[MikeGnitecki]

Earlier in this thread I mentioned my subscribe script. Basically, whenever a user subscribes through the web-site, my CGI script sends an e-mail to [mailing list]-subscribe-[username]=[isp]@mlm.[my domain], and Bccs it to me, so I can see all subscribe requests. At that point ezMLM e-mails the user asking him to confirm the subscribe.

Susan requested a copy of the script. In response to her request, I've re-coded the script and added more comments, to make modifications / customizations easier. The script is now available for download at:

http://65.115.165.125/subscribe.txt

I suggest that the script be put in a cgi-bin and renamed to subscribe.cgi. The script must be referenced using a form like the following:

<FORM ACTION="http://www.YOURDOMAIN.com/cgi-bin/subscribe.cgi" METHOD="POST">Your e-mail:<br><INPUT TYPE="TEXT" SIZE="30" NAME="useremail"><br><INPUT TYPE="SUBMIT" VALUE="Send"></FORM>

-Mike Gnitecki

[Bruce]

Originally posted by SusanHorizons:
My question is: how does one find out if this is in fact happening? Is there a file somewhere which tells you who has subscribed but not confirmed? Does ez-mlm send a follow-up message to anyone who hasn't confirmed in some reasonable time period - say 10 days?

Unfortunately, ezmlm keeps no record of who has attempted to subscribe to its lists. The response address in the confirmation notice contains a cryptographic cookie that can be verified (to ensure that the subscription was not in fact forged) by ezmlm without ezmlm making any record of the initial subscription attempt.

[TimT]

I know I used it before, but where do you find the ezMLM Mailing List Web Forms?
Thanks
Tim

I'm the worst searcher in the world... I always get a "Couldn't Find" answer.

[sheila]

Originally posted by TimT:
I know I used it before, but where do you find the ezMLM Mailing List Web Forms?

Maybe this is what you want?
http://www.aota.net/Mailing_Lists/websublist.php4

[Evoir]

Howdy

This looks tempting: editing the MLM emails that go out to confirm a subscription. What files do I need to edit to make this so?

[Evoir]

nevahmind.... I found it.