Webmaster Email is Erratic

I'm having trouble getting notification of new posts via email. The guestbook seems to be sending them out OK, but I only sometimes get them.

I want to get my notifications at a specific AOL email account, but they just won't go there. It doesn't matter what AOL account I set up as the webmaster email address, NOTHING gets through to the AOL account.

I have several comcast.net email accounts, and they can receive notifications with no problem. But when I set them up to forward all mail to one of my AOL accounts, they refuse to forward my guestbook notifications to any AOL account. Messages from other sources are forwarded with no problem.

It seems like maybe AOL just doesn't like guestbook mail. Any info on this? Any suggestions?

Probably because AOL junk is notorious for blocking alot of host's webmail accounts. I have the same problem with my webmail if I want to email a friend who has AOL crap I have to use my ISP email.

Unfortunately as JTD said AOL's spam filters are notoriously paranoid. I don't know if they have a bulk or junk folder where these emails may end up. I'd personally suggest changing to a better email provider. If you wish I can send you a Gmail invite, just email me so I can send an email to your email address (and then probably have to send you the link in a private email when AOL blocks the invte).

LSander wrote:I'm having trouble getting notification of new posts via email. The guestbook seems to be sending them out OK, but I only sometimes get them.

I want to get my notifications at a specific AOL email account, but they just won't go there. It doesn't matter what AOL account I set up as the webmaster email address, NOTHING gets through to the AOL account.

I have several comcast.net email accounts, and they can receive notifications with no problem. But when I set them up to forward all mail to one of my AOL accounts, they refuse to forward my guestbook notifications to any AOL account. Messages from other sources are forwarded with no problem.

It seems like maybe AOL just doesn't like guestbook mail. Any info on this? Any suggestions?

If your webhost allows you to set up email accounts directly, create a email account i.e. guestbook@yourdomainname.com then instruct all email to guestbook@yourdomainname.com to be forwarded to your aol account.

The AOL filter is set up to block email addresses that do not originate upon the server that the sending email address has - so if your guest has entered their email address, the script enters that as the sender, when in truth, it is your webhost's server that is the sender - AOL checks these and blocks them when sender does not match up with server.

So if you create an email account through your site, then direct all guestbook email through the guestbook admin to go that email account which you have subsequently redirected to your AOL address, you receive the forwarded version of the email - AOL usually (USUALLY) does not block those.

Hoping that is not toooo confusing - it is the only way I have found to work around the AOL filter.

I am still wrestling with this. ET's suggestion seemed like a good one, but it didn't work. I CAN get post notifications forwarded to my Comcast accounts, but not to AOL (and I am NOT interested in moving my email away from AOL--there are too many advantages there).

I surmise that part of the problem is in the notification email itself. In my case, the email says it originates at USSRankin@67.165.108.105. I'm not 100% sure where that numeric URL is, but I'm pretty sure it's the router for my home network.

I have installed the "quick mod" to have the guestbook log the IP rather than the hostname (changing $host in add.class.php). When I reverse the modification, the email says it originates at USSRankin@c-67-165-108-105.client.comcast.net

If I knew where to plug it in, I'd be willing to plug in one address that these notification emails always say they are from.

Ah thats the problem then. The guestbook script fills in the email if none supplies as theirname@server. Because you are hosting it locally it is putting server as your IP. You need to manually edit that part in add.class.php.

Carbonize (didn't log in) wrote:Ah thats the problem then. The guestbook script fills in the email if none supplies as theirname@server. Because you are hosting it locally it is putting server as your IP. You need to manually edit that part in add.class.php.

I'm not hosting locally. The email seems to figure out from where I am accessing the guestbook, then tacks that onto the end of itself, after the "@".

I want to override that, but I need a little more help in knowing what to edit in add.class.php. (I'm getting reasonably capable at this stuff, but I'm still basically a newbie.)

Whoops yeah sorry I meant it puts it as NAME@THEIRIPRESOLVED.
lib/add.entry.phpJust change the "nobody@$host" to something like "guestbook@mysite.com".

LSander wrote:I am still wrestling with this. ET's suggestion seemed like a good one, but it didn't work. I CAN get post notifications forwarded to my Comcast accounts, but not to AOL (and I am NOT interested in moving my email away from AOL--there are too many advantages there).

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If I knew where to plug it in, I'd be willing to plug in one address that these notification emails always say they are from.

I haven't had that problem with AOL blocking it, but it may be that my webhost is set up in a way that AOL allows through their filter. Yep, like Carbonize suggests, change the portion add.entry.php to force it to use an email address with your domain name. Also, I'm thinking that there is another spot that you will want to change - let me go look at the script again to see where the script picks up the email addresses that the visitor actually plugs in so that you might be able to change that too.

Okay - I went back to the script to look -

As Carbonize described above

could be modified as follows to totally force aaaallll emails to come directly off your server as represented by your site and bypassing the email address of the visitor from being entered into the sender portion.

Save the original file before making any changes like this just to be on the safe side, but I'm fairly certain that will force the script to use only one sender address from your guestbook and it should be acceptable to AOL.

Hoping that helps.

I'd just go for $from_email = ($this->email == "") ? "guestbook@mysite.com" : $this->email; this way if they provide an email address the email will come from their address otherwise it will come from guestbook@mysite.com

Carbonize wrote:I'd just go for $from_email = ($this->email == "") ? "guestbook@mysite.com" : $this->email; this way if they provide an email address the email will come from their address otherwise it will come from guestbook@mysite.com

But that's the problem - the other people's email is not showing up either....

Ooops I forgot get logged in first - Carbonize - from the earlier posts, I'm sensing that the emails with the visitor's email address are not showing up at the AOL address. So if that is the case, allowing visitor's email address to be entered may not help the situation.

But if the LSander's confirms that the visitor's email address is showing up with the notification, then yes, I think leaving it as you show would work.

Still say they should dump AOHell and use a decent email service. My offer a gmail invite still stands. They could try your method but odds are the emails are getting blocked for their content rather than the from address.

I hear ya on dropping AOL - An over priced product for what is offered, but some people really enjoy it - Who am I to judge?