Gotchas for 0.3.0

[julian]

Hey everybody,

Please be advised that the next NodeBB version is 0.3.0. The minor version bump (as opposed to patch) is due to one or more backwards incompatible changes:

1. The emailer system was completely replaced by a plugin-driven system. In order to send emails, NodeBB will require that you install a third-party emailer plugin:
   • PostageApp
   • Mandrill (thanks @bentael!)
   • MailGun
   • SendGrid plugin is planned
   • Postmark
   • Local SMTP (thanks @barveyhirdman!)
2. The language system was properly integrated into the admin panel, so you can now select the default language from there. This change means that if you had edited the translator.js file in /public/src/ and changed DEFAULT_LANGUAGE, your forum is now back to English. The language system now no longer expects a DEFAULT_LANGUAGE variable.
3. The ideal upgrade path has changed. After a git pull, simply run ./nodebb upgrade to resolve all missing dependencies, migrate the database (if necessary), and upgrade plugins/themes.
4. The entire socket.io layer has been overhauled. If you have a plugin that uses web sockets in any way, the following has changed:
   • Use module.parent.require('./socket.io' ) , websockets.js no longer exists
   • All existing socket calls have been renamed, and the api: prefix has been removed.

[julian]

For those wondering why I didn't bother with sendmail/postfix plugins from the get-go...

I'm of the opinion that email sending has become much more complicated since the time of those programs. With DKIM and SPF almost a necessity, allowing forum admins to send email through a local (or remote SMTP) server means I would eventually have to deal with users wondering why they're seeing a bounce rate of > 50%.

PostageApp is the first plugin, mostly because they are Canadian, as is the NodeBB team. Don't worry, the other plugins will come along soon

[Chris]

PostmarkApp is worth a look as well

Excited for these changes though.

[julian]

Hey @theepiphany -- Postmark looks nice, except I can't send emails for free (therefore I can't test )

Do you have an account? If you could donate it temporarily, I can build the plugin just for you

[Chris]

@julian I do, I'll give you access to it if you'd like.

pm me an e-mail address to authorize it on for you.

[trevor]

Well I'll figure out how to use this... If I need help, I hope you got my back @julian since this is your idea. PostageApp it is!

[Chris]

I love the idea of using a Canadian made version of what I've already got going but the pricing just is a bit off to what I'm use to.

I'm already using postmark app in a few places as well as mandrill one our bigger project. hmmn.

[julian]

@trevor @theepiphany Not to worry, within a couple days we'll have the other plugins ready to go

[trevor]

Thats good to know, thanks @julian

[julian]

Oy vey, I got four desktop notifications from that reply ><

[julian]

Mailgun plugin ready to rock & roll: https://github.com/julianlam/nodebb-plugin-emailer-mailgun

[skaughtx0r]

I just got sendmail/postfix working on my server yesterday!

As long as I don't have to pay for one of these services its fine.

[julian]

Haha, sorry @skaughtx0r ! The blistering pace of NodeBB development... on the up-side, you can stick with 0.2.1 for the time being. Then your postfix install will continue to work.

Don't worry, the two plugins listed above are both free (to an extent). PostageApp allows 100 per day, Mailgun allows 10,000.

I'm pretty sure you won't send more than 10k emails a day

[skaughtx0r]

I'm pretty sure you won't send more than 10k emails a day

I think its 10k/month, but I highly doubt I'll ever use that much.

I'll update, it's not that big of a deal, I'd rather stay on the bleeding edge while I'm developing the site.

[julian]

Ah, you're right, it's 10k a month. What a rip-off. ( )

[julian]

Postmark plugin is ready to go!

[trevor]

Keep up the good work!

[Chris]

Postmark plugin is ready to go!

You're like a machine.

[julian]

Haha... just a couple to get the ball rolling. The majority of the work had been done with the PostageApp plugin, so it was more a matter of replacing "postageapp" with "postmark" or what have you...

[bentael]

nodebb-plugin-emailer-mandrill

basically copied your mailgun files,
Ctrl+R "mailgun" "mandrill"
npm publish

don't try this at home