Maintenance Mode Timer emails

[Shane]

Under Maintenance Mode I enabled:

• FrontEnd Maintenance Mode
• Send Email Reminder when Maintenance Mode Countdown Timer has completed

The Maintenance Mode Time (10080 Minutes) expired, but I received 130 emails between 3:46am and 10:19am until I reset Maintenance Mode. Each email contained the same message: The Maintenance Mode Countdown Timer has completed for Website:
Please advise how I can limit the volume of notices once the timer has expired?

[AITpro Admin]

That is the intended/desired functionality.  It means that 130 visitors visited your website after the Maintenance Mode Countdown Timer completed/reached 0.  The reason this is desired is lets say you completely forget that your site is in Maintenance Mode.  It would be very hard for this mistake to turn into a catastrophy since you are sent an email reminder every time a new visitor visits your website.  The assumption made is this:  if you set the Maintenance Mode Countdown Timer for 6 hours then you plan on putting your site in Maintenance Mode for 6 hours and no longer then that.  If you need to extend that Maintenance Mode time you would extend the Countdown Timer time in the Maintenance Mode options.  The most important aspect of this reminder email is to make sure a catastrophic mistake is not made – your website is in Maintenance Mode when you think it is actually Live.

http://forum.ait-pro.com/forums/topic/maintenance-mode-guide-read-me-first/

Send Email Reminder when Maintenance Mode Countdown Timer has completed:
Check this checkbox to enable the javascript Countdown Timer to send you an email reminder when the Countdown Timer reaches 0 / is completed. More importantly when this option is selected you will receive another email reminder each time a visitor visits your website.

[Shane]

Hmmm OK, for me personally just one email would be enough, but I get the idea. Further to the above issue, the email notices seem to be missing some info? The Maintenance Mode Countdown Timer has completed for Website: ????? The specific website name is missing!

[AITpro Admin]

Yep, we looked at several different ways to limit emails, which is really simple to do and the only logical way we could see doing something like that without defeating the whole purpose of the reminder emails would be to create an additional option setting to limit emails per minute.  ie only send an email reminder once per 15 minutes, once per 30 minutes, once per hour.  If enough people request that then we will add that option.

The reason the website name/link is not included in the reminder email is the Display Admin/Login Link Maintenance Mode option was not selected, which is a mistake/bug/correction that we need to fix.  That will be fixed in the next BPS version.  When we release BPS .50.1 we will give you Kudos on the BPS Changelog page for this Bug that you reported.

[Shane]

It’s disappointing the new feature “MMode” option:  Specific Date/Time Reminder Email was initially approved for the release of BPS .50.1, but has now been dropped. I for one would have appreciated the choice ;^{

If it annoys you like it does me to potentially receive hundreds of email reminders once your maintenance mode set time expires then join your voice with mine and request this feature…

[AITpro Admin]

The intended purpose of the Send Email Reminder email is to remind you that your Countdown Timer has completed/reached 0 and your website is still in Maintenance Mode.  The next logical step is either to add more time/reset the Countdown Timer to a new time or turn Off the email reminder if you do not want to be sent anymore email reminders.  The Countdown Timer is optional – you do not have to choose to use it if you do not want to receive email reminders.  You can choose the WP Dashboard reminder option instead.  The whole idea/concept is that you want to be reminded and not NOT reminded – that defeats the intended purpose.  Limiting reminder emails therefore does not make any sense.  Example:  If your Countdown Timer has completed and you want to be reminded again in 12 hours then you would add 12 more hours to the Countdown Timer.  You will receive an email reminder 12 hours from the new time that you set/reset.  Email reminders are optional – either you want a reminder email or you don’t and would then choose any one of the existing other possible options to choose from.

[Shane]

I agree with everything you said, except it should be optional whether one receives one reminder or potentially hundreds if not more, since it might be some time before you check your email and log back into the dashboard after maintenance mode expiry?

[AITpro Admin]

Oh now I understand where you are coming from/your usage.  For your particular usage you would NOT want to use the email reminder option and instead just use the Dashboard alert option.  Or if you just have a website sitting in Maintenance Mode indefinitely then either do not use the Countdown Timer at all or set it for a very far future date/time.  Example:  If your website is going to be in Maintenance Mode for a month or more than set your Countdown Timer for a month or more or just do not use the Countdown Timer.  The send email alert option is for folks who are switching in and out of Maintenance Mode quickly and do not want to screw up and forget that their site is still in Maintenance Mode.  Or of course this could be used for long term new website development, but the same logic still applies.  You want to be notified that your site is still in Maintenance Mode after the time you set has completed/expired.  It is even more beneficial that each new visit to your website sends you another email.  Why?  What if you screw up twice.  Let’s say you are really busy.  You get 1 email reminder and then get swamped and forget again that your site is in Maintenance Mode.  The current way BPS Maintenance Mode is designed is it will not let you screw up because afterall we are human and we make mistakes/forget.  MMode does not forget…

[jenni101]

Hi,

just reread this thread, and the ‘penny has dropped’ at last – I’d always been confused as to why I kept getting loads of email reminders about my maintenance mode ending, because I’d assumed that the timer was just that – a timer for the maintenance period, so at the end of the time it would automatically turn off maintenance mode (rather than just being a timer!!)! Can’t believe I’ve been so slow on this! So thanks, as I’ll now remember to turn it off as soon as I need to – perhaps it might be worth putting in this obvious statement into your Read Me instructions, so others (like me) can be prevented from leaving their site in MM for days?

Cheers.

[AITpro Admin]

perhaps it might be worth putting in this obvious statement into your Read Me instructions, so others (like me) can be prevented from leaving their site in MM for days

hmm logic dictates that if the email reminders are not getting your attention then probably adding Read Me help instructions would be even less likely to get your attention, but we should at bare minimum clarify that MMode needs to be turned On and Off and does not automaticallly turn itself Off at this point. We will most likely be adding an additional option at some point to automatically turn off Maintenance Mode after the countdown Timer completes/reaches 0.

[jenni101]

Thanks for that – it wasn’t that they weren’t getting my attention, it’s just that I’d assumed it was automatically turned off at the end of the timer, so I thought there was some problem with either BPS (sorry) or how I’d set it up. So I’d just go ‘What going on here?…” and delete the email without going back into my site and turning it off! I’d only go back in and click the Turn Off MM button after they kept coming and I didn’t know what else to do! (What an embarrassment to even admit this!). So yes please, add it into the Read Me bit, as I ALWAYS read that bit so I don’t mess things up. Many thanks.

[AITpro Admin]

Additional help info has been added in the Maintenance Mode Read Me help button.

When the Countdown Timer reaches 0 / has completed your website will still be in Maintenance Mode until you turn Off Maintenance Mode. An additional option will be added in the future to automatically turn off Maintenance Mode when the Countdown Timer reaches 0 / has completed.

Enable Countdown Timer:
Check this checkbox to enable a javascript Countdown Timer that will be displayed to visitors. When the Countdown Timer reaches 0 / has completed your website will still be in Maintenance Mode until you turn Off Maintenance Mode. An additional option will be added in the future to automatically turn off Maintenance Mode when the Countdown Timer reaches 0 / has completed.

Send Email Reminder when Maintenance Mode Countdown Timer has completed:
Check this checkbox to enable the javascript Countdown Timer to send you an email reminder when the Countdown Timer reaches 0 / is completed. More importantly when this option is selected you will receive another email reminder each time a visitor visits your website in Maintenance Mode. When the Countdown Timer reaches 0 / has completed your website will still be in Maintenance Mode until you turn Off Maintenance Mode. An additional option will be added in the future to automatically turn off Maintenance Mode when the Countdown Timer reaches 0 / has completed.

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