[TYPO3-ect] TYPO3ext: direct_mail mergers & acquisitions

[David Toshack]

Elmar Hinz wrote:
> Hello David,
> 
> it may be due to the summer holidays in Europe that there are not so much
> reactions as usual.
> 
> David Toshack wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I would like to propose a new ECT project for coordinating the many
>> mailing list/newsletter extensions for streamlined mailing list management.
>>
>> Over at ECT, we are also getting reved up for development on the new
>> Partner Framework, which we are hoping will become a major part of the
>> TYPO3 user/group/role/permission management.
>>
>> In order to have all these working together, we need to start with small
>>  steps towards this goal. I would like to make a start by taking the
>> best of all current subscription extensions and bring them back into
>> direct_mail_subscription. Or maybe even a more official version of
>> Stanlis' FE User Registration Extension should be created within the
>> Partner Framework. These are some of the things we need to work through.
>>
> 
> Address Relations, permission management, direct mail subscription. This is
> a big complex. The target should be to integrate them all in a smooth way.
> But as you rightly observe we can't do this in one big stepp. So we need a
> plan to start in different corners with some parallel activities and join
> them in the end.
> 
> 
> A) The partner framework.
> 
> The partner framework is more in the focus than ever. It will have a
> Presentation at T3DD. Oliver Hader will review and improve it during his
> diploma theses. Robert Lemke has joined the partner framework team
> yesterday. All this are hints that it may become a basis within the 5.x
> branch of TYPO3.  With all this developments on the horizont it is a little
> to early to build directmail registration upon it. But it will be a little
> step when partner frameworke has gone throught this processes.

Yes, I imagine the partner extension will mature a lot over the coming
weeks, hopefully to support the new official tx_lib and tx_div. And the
partner_fe extension to follow in the footsteps of tx_articles.
And hopefully soon, tx_forms.

> 
> 
> B) Direct mail
> 
> I have got my problems with direct mail since years. It should be simple to
> install such a standard component like direct mail, but it isn't. How
> successfull could TYPO3 be, if extensions like this work like you expect
> them to work? According to the logs, Stanislas is the only person who
> regularly works on it to fix the bugs and so on. But he does is very alone
>  with this.
> 
> <http://svn.t3.digitaldistrict.de/cgi-bin/trac.cgi/log/typo3xdev/tx_directmail/trunk>
> 
> So what steps could we do to improve direct mail?
> 
> * Creating a project group for it.
> * A mailing list is available
> * Analysing the current state. What is good? What needs to be fixed? What
> can be done more easily? How is it related to other extensions?
> * Roadmap, milestones, hands on ...
> 
> David try it. Set up a pool of interested people. Maybe we can get it running.

Sounds good. Should we consider starting again with an official tx_mail
extension to combine the best features of all the direct mail based
extensions in the MVC model?

The next step I would assume would be to then create a plugin to use
tx_mail and the partner extension to send bulk mails of selected pages.
With pages selected from the page tree, to be mailed to partner contact
details selected by criteria such as relationship or contact permission.

Mailout stats could hopefully be supported by an official stats
extension one day. I would like to organize a joining of the many TYPO3
stats extensions when things slow down a bit but a mail stats plugin
should suffice to help with the replacement or enhancement of direct_mail.


> 
> 
> C) Stanlis' FE User Registration:
> 
> The very same situation. A central extension. Very hard to configure.
> Stanislas working on it without the support of others. Here the
> personalized name is indeed a reason for others not to join the project.
> But it is to mighty that others would start up an alternative to it.
> 
> <http://svn.t3.digitaldistrict.de/cgi-bin/trac.cgi/log/typo3xdev/tx_srfeuserregister/trunk>

What do you think about concentrating attention on reworking the partner
extension to support the MVC model extensions first?

Then partners could be created with specific criteria such as
relationships and contact permissions with a tx_forms supported partner
registration plugin.


> I think this registration is too complex like it is. I would have the
> vision of two layers:
> 
> a) A basic configuration that das all the workflow of the registration and
> is really easy to configure.

Hopefully this could be covered by the partner registration plugin.

> 
> b) A second layer that adds configurable fields to the registration
> process. That is the part that is really time consuming today. It should be
> devided from a). Differnt styles of templates would be possible here.

Hopefully the coming forms library will provide a solution for this.

> 
> 
> D) Where to store the Data:
> 
> Currently directmail and FE User Registration store address data in two
> different Tables, if I am up to date. If we would start a FE User
> Registration with a non Stanislas key, this would be a chance to move all
> address data into one table. Also the Partner Framework offers a solution
> be accessing all address data through one API, even if they are stored in
> different tables.
> 
> So a new FE-User registration could make a project group of it's own.
> 
> 
> E) Making it one Project?
> 
> David you already proposed to make Direct Mail Subscription and FE User
> Registration one Project. There are some reasons to do so:
> 
> 1.) The mail confirmation process works in the same way.
> 2.) Often FE User registration is connected with mail registration.
> 
> However Direct Mail Subcription must not be the same and can be a different
>  process. So it must be configurable how it should work in detail. That
> would fit well with the proposal of 2. layers I suggested in C).
> 
> I think it would be a reasonable alternative to make it one porject. It is
> not by chance that Stanislas attends both fields.
> 
> So enough stuff for today. David I guess this is the kind of coordination
> of extensions, you are very inerested in. So make it your project. Get in
> contact with Stanislas. Get in contact with David Brühlmeier. Get in
> contact with others who need FE users for their own extensions. Make it happen.

Excellent! It looks like we are on the same wavelength. I am interested
in what you think about my plans. I will also get David and Stanislas'
opinion on this thread, and any other direct mail, subscription, or user
registration extension developers that would like to contribute. With
the the long term goal of marking the plethora of mail and user
management extensions obsolete.


Cheers,
David