Email Problems

[Kensino]

How come when members subscribe to threads on my forum they never get notification emails when someone makes a post?

My forum has no problem sending emails because people register just fine and I have tested sending emails to myself. Everything works fine.

But when someone makes a post or gets a new private message subscription emails are not sent. Subscription emails must be globally turned off some place. But there are 10,000 options to search through.

[Steve Machol]

vB uses the server for it's email. If there are problems, then the issue is either with the server itself or on the receiving end.

Please see this page for help troubleshooting email problems:

http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/troubleshoot_email

[Kensino]

Yep. I contacted the host 3 times they told me that there is nothing wrong in the server, and that emails are being sent. Requested emails are being sent, but subscription emails are not. So they said that proves the email server is working correctly.

I guess I am in bad luck because all 500 of my members have bad email accounts on receiving end. Why do I get all the people with messed up email accounts.

[Steve Machol]

If you followed all of those instructions, then what do the server and vB email logs show? The answer is in those logs.

[Kensino]

Yes I follow all of them but it was not showing up as anything wrong. My host tells me they are working fine and no other customers on my sharedserver are having issues with mail.

I'm still looking to find the problem, but I can't see anything.

[Steve Machol]

Then what do the server and vB email logs show exactly? The answer is in those logs.

[Kensino]

I don't know I can't really understand the logs but my web host tells me that everything is working fine. That the issue is with the mail server.

My mail server is hosted through a different company from my web host. When I contact my mail host they tell me the issue is with my web host, or its an issue with the PHP code.

I know that is can't be an issue with the PHP code. So that just leaves me with my web host and mail host blaiming each other because neither knows wtf they are doing.

Maybe I could open a ticket and send you the logs but I don't want to post them here because they have all my information in them.


Edit: The vB logs say everything works normal. I am going to get a couple more server logs and see what they say. If they all match up with one same error or something.

[Steve Machol]

If the vB log emails are fine then the issue is with the server or on the receiving end. All vB can do is send the emails to the server. What happens after that is beyond it's control.

[beishe8]

Install another forum, named "testvb".
Do not modify it.
Register there as "testmember1" and "testmember2".

Open a thread as testmember1. Subscribe to it.
Log out and log in as testmember2.
Reply to the thread.

Are you receiving an email?
Yes? Something is wrong with your modifications.

[Steve Machol]

That's a worthwhile test but honestly I have not seen modifications affect emails that often. This is almost always a server issue or a problem on the receiving end. Either way the answer is in the logs.

[Kensino]

I have the logs from my web server, and my host tells me this log means that its a problem with the mail host. I show the log to my mail host and they tell me this log means there is a problem with my web host.

As usual you can't do anything in the IT world because no one wants to take responsible for anything. Its just easier to claim your stuff is God and its the other persons fault.

I know the problem is not with vB, but it doesn't matter it will never be fixed because no one wants to take the blame.

----

Aug 26 16:02:07 web3 sendmail[31973]: n7QK27Xf031973: to=###@###.com, ctladdr=httpd (100/101), delay=00:00:00, xdelay=00:00:00, mailer=relay, pri=30840, relay=[127.0.0.1] [127.0.0.1], dsn=2.0.0, stat=Sent (n7QK27Qq031974 Message accepted for delivery) Aug 26 16:02:09 web3 sendmail[31976]: n7QK27Qq031974: to=<###@###.com>, ctladdr=<[email protected]> (100/101), delay=00:00:02, xdelay=00:00:02, mailer=esmtp, pri=120974, relay=mailstore1.secureserver.net. [216.69.186.201], dsn=5.0.0, stat=Service is unavailable





Web host claims that "service unavailable" means the mail host is not working. The mail host says that "message accepted for delivery" means they are working just fine.

[Kensino]

vB logs are fine.

----

SUCCESS
Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:30:30 -0400
To: ###@###.com
Subject: vBulletin Email Test (With -f Parameter)
From: "###@###.com" <###@###.com>
Sender: ###@###.com
Return-Path: ###@###.com
Message-ID: <[email protected]###.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-Priority: 3
X-Mailer: vBulletin Mail via PHP


You are receiving this email because your email address was entered as an email test at Develsigner Community.

The first step of this email test script has been completed. However, a formatting test is still necessary:

A paragraph break.
A single line break.

Another paragraph break.
Another single line break.
Another single line break.

If the above lines look correct, you are finished. The email features on your server are setup correctly.
If this email is run together on one line, there is possibly a configuration error with your mail server. Please ensure it is configured correctly.
=====================================================

[Steve Machol]

vB sent the email, then your server tried to send it to the recipient. That response means that either that email server was down or your server cannot access it for some reason.

[Kensino]

Its fixed now, thanks.

I was using the normal PHP mail but because my MX and CNAME were custom pointing to a different company, the web host had my mail functions disabled. For some reason it vB wasnt showing that as an error.

Then when I switched to SMTP instead, the support person gave me the wrong details. he told me it was smtp.server.com but it was smtpout.server.com. For some reason that didn't through an error either. Maybe that's what the log ment as service not avaliable.

Anyway, I tested several times and its working now using SMTP so I'm just going to leave it alone.


Also they are using a stupid port number on the mail server, not the standard port number so that was making vB mess up because it was using the normal 25. I had to enter a custom number.

[Steve Machol]

Glad to hear it.