Duplication of subscription confirmation for private discussion lists

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mike_m
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Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2023 7:50 pm

Duplication of subscription confirmation for private discussion lists

Post by mike_m » Wed Apr 19, 2023 12:43 pm

I noticed a surprising behaviour and wonder if this is intended (I don't think so) or if this can be fixed with different settings:

I have set up a private mailing list as a discussion list. Two profile fields are defined. The List Owner sends invites to new subscribers. The profile fields are populated by the list owner, so there is nothing left to do for the subscriber.

Expected behaviour:
  1. The subscriber gets an invite message. The message contains a link "Confirm subscription to [list-name]".
  2. Clicking the link in the invite message confirms the subscription. Done. (Optional: a confirmation/welcome message can be sent)
Observed behaviour:
  1. The subscriber gets an invite message. The message contains a link "Subscribe to [list-name]".
  2. Clicking the link in the invite message sends the subscriber to the subscribe_landing page (which tells them again that this is an invite-only list) where they need to click a link to confirm the subscription (they can also modify the profile field info on this page; BTW: the data fields show empty although they have been pre-populated by the List Owner)
  3. This sends another email asking the subscriber again whether they are "Ready to join [list-name]?"
  4. When that link is clicked, the subscription is finally confirmed.
I find the observed behaviour frustrating because it requires the subscriber to take 2 extra steps that are just unnecessary duplication (I've been invited by the owner. If I don't want to subscribe, I don't click the link in the first invite message, no need to send me to a website to click confirm to get another confirmation email where I need to click confirm again).

Is this something that can be fixed in the settings?

Thanks for your help!

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dadamail
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Re: Duplication of subscription confirmation for private discussion lists

Post by dadamail » Wed Apr 19, 2023 6:17 pm

It's fairly clunky, I agree - what you describe as expected behavior was the past behavior. The problem is GDPR, which means you really shouldn't be sending out an invite message at all, as it's technically an unsolicited mass email and the subscription confirmation isn't technically a closed-loop opt-in, since the subscriber didn't request the invitation to begin with.

https://dadamailproject.com/d/gdpr_guid ... nvitations

For your application, you may want to turn off closed-loop opt-in for your private list, which will stop you from needing confirm the subscription in your mail reader.
Justin J
Creator, Dada Mail

mike_m
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2023 7:50 pm

Re: Duplication of subscription confirmation for private discussion lists

Post by mike_m » Thu Apr 20, 2023 7:55 am

Thanks so much for clarifying, Justin! This makes sense.

The option to disable closed-loop opt-in only appears if I set the mailing list to "Allow anyone to subscribe", which is not what I want. Access to the list should still be invite-only.

I'm aware that I can activate "Require approval from the List Owner", but this introduces another step which is unnecessary if subscribers were invite-only.

Is there a way to disable/hide the subscribe_landing page for uninvited users? (I can't empty the subscribe_landing.tmpl because it is used also for invited subscribers to confirm their subscription).

Thanks again!

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dadamail
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Re: Duplication of subscription confirmation for private discussion lists

Post by dadamail » Fri Apr 21, 2023 11:22 pm

mike_m wrote:
Thu Apr 20, 2023 7:55 am
Is there a way to disable/hide the subscribe_landing page for uninvited users? (I can't empty the subscribe_landing.tmpl because it is used also for invited subscribers to confirm their subscription).
Make your list a private list, then make your list hidden?
Justin J
Creator, Dada Mail

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