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This is on the TODO list and has been forever. The issue is we have a lot of members. A lot, so we need a system that will run send emails off to the thousands of subscribers as a background process, and not as part of the actual upgrade process.
I'm thinking out loud here. Chime in whenever you want.
So - an article is updated, an entry is made in a queue that specifies the article ID, and then a service, running constantly in the background, polls the queue, grabs each entry as it sees them, gets the list of members who subscribed to that article, creates an email and fires it off to each member.
That sounds easy.
Now what if the service, the server or our network connection breaks in the middle of sending those 20,000 emails? Do we track who the emails were sent to then pick up where we left off? If so, what's the most space and time efficient method? What if we end up with a situation where we have so many subscribers and article updates in a given period that the service can't keep up with the queue and starts falling more and more behind? Do we cut the cord or design a system that is clustered? If clustered, how to we coordinate each service on each machine so they only handle part of the load and don't steal each other's recipients?
Any thoughts? I want this service as much as you guys but it's been relegated while we work on, well, everything else. Any shortcuts we get might help bump it up the list.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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Maybe I am totally out in left field on this one, but seeing how all the updated articles are already listed in the weekly newsletter, would it not be possible to somehow flag the article in the newsletter for each user who is subscribed to the article? At least then you do not have to send out anymore emails then you already do. You already customize each newsletter by letting users pick the format and sections they want to see, so would a little more processing be too much work?
You may be right
I may be crazy
-- Billy Joel --
Within you lies the power for good - Use it!
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Love it!
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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I would say this sounds like the best idea so far...Sending an email every time a visited article is updated could be potintialy huge if someone has been here for a few years...and doing it for every member, it could turn into a nightmare.
Pablo
www.aes4you.com
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Chris Maunder wrote: Any thoughts?
Well i think it can be incorporated in CPHog, it can periodically check some feed in the background and process accordingly.
It will be some respite while you try to find some sort of solution to the problem.
I know its really hard for you to maintain such a community driven website so lots of love to you for listening to the members
I don't think, therefore I am not?
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Now you're trying to use a hammer to fasten a screw. Having notifications appear when you visit the site based on,say, your bookmarks is eay (and in fact not a bad idea). It's the email sending thing that's the trick
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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Chris Maunder wrote: It's the email sending thing that's the trick
Yes i agree, thats why i said that while you guys try to build an email notification system maybe something like that would do (as a temp arrangement).
Chris Maunder wrote: hammer to fasten a screw
Whats wrong with that hammer the screw hard and it goes right in (who cares about unscrewing it)
I don't think, therefore I am not?
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some kind of icon notification against the list of articles in the bookmark?
-Prakash
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What's wrong with a simple RSS feed for each article?
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Hi Chris,
I am not getting any emails from CP, none of Jordan's newsletters, not the weekly CP newsletter, no reply notifications from my messages, and not any direct email replies to my messages. I turned off the spam filter in my email account so the volume of emails I get is way up, but still nothing from CP. I double checked my CP account settings and the email address I have entered there for reply messages and newsletters is correct.
Hope you can fix this soon, or give me an idea where I can look if the problem is on my end.
Thanks.
You may be right I may be crazy -- Billy Joel --
Within you lies the power for good, use it!!!
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Last week we were placed on some spam blacklists, partly because our exchange server had a small naming conflict that caused every mailserver in the world to instantly distrust us (guys! C'mon! It's us - remember us?? ), and partly because people feel it's more entertaining to report us to their ISP instead of clicking the unsubscribe link at the end of the newsletter.
We're seeing things working better this week so cross your fingers.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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Well, I recieved this one, and also the Code Project offers email so things are looking better. I'll keep my fingers crossed that things get back to normal now
You may be right I may be crazy -- Billy Joel --
Within you lies the power for good, use it!!!
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fyi, The c++ link on the header toolbar is not working for me, it takes me back to the home page.
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Yeah, the same for me. The [MFC/C++] link.
Maxwell Chen
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The MFC/C++ link on the left? It's meant to: it sets your global settings for the site and takes you back to the homepage to show you the articles relevant to your newly chosen category
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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oops, I thought it was a shortcut to the forum
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1. that you (at least the person who submitted the article) can see how many times a copy of your stuff has been downloaded. I say this because I know that even I (yes, me) forget to rate an article or leave a comment, even though I download the source code that usually tends to help me a lot. It's great to know I've got a good rating on an article, but it would really make me feel good and want to write the next article if I saw that x amount of people have actually downloaded it.
2. (not sure how the math behind this would go). A way to rate an article again. For instance, I see an article with a nice concept and not enough source code - I rate it a 3. A week later because of comments pertaining to lack of source code, the author updates it with great source code and explanations for all - the rating in my head is now a 4, but I can't change it.
Just my 1.39 cents. How does anyone else feel?
-- moved by ed. at 17:48 Tuesday 1st August, 2006
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BlackDice wrote: A way to rate an article again.
I think that's a great idea!
PS: Better to post site suggestions here[^].
/ravi
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Both will be done.
#1 is tricky because we don't have an easy way to backdate prior download info. We can do it but with roughly 50Gb of logs per month for 6 years it will take about 3,761 years to process in order to get an accurate count. Or we could just take a wild guess for those articles already up
#2 is easy.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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Great, Chris. Thanks!!
BTW, where did you come up with the number 3,761?
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You can guess
cheers,
Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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it's called a WAG...
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997 ----- "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001
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John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote: WAG...
The abbreviation WAG, to me, means Wives and Girlfriends. However, it doesn't really fit in this context.
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Wild Ass Guess is my WAG.
I can imagine the sinking feeling one would have after ordering my book,
only to find a laughably ridiculous theory with demented logic once the book arrives - Mark McCutcheon
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Chris, is it generally acceptable to link the source & demo ZIP from your own domain if you want to see the number of downloads?
"Nothing ever changes by staying the same." - David Brent (BBC's The Office) ~ ScrollingGrid: A cross-browser freeze-header control for the ASP.NET DataGrid
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