Multiple transactional email providers with auto-switch between them

Contribute Feature

AI 生成的摘要

The discussion explores the idea of using multiple transactional email providers with automatic switching between them, inspired by free tiers from services like Mandrill, SendGrid, and SparkPost. meglio proposes a configuration system where users can set quotas for each provider and automatically switch when limits are reached. sam raises concerns about the complexity and potential for sending confusing messages to recipients. codinghorror notes that Mandrill no longer offers a free tier, undermining the idea. Stephen points out that different providers integrate differently with email content, such as unsubscribe and blacklist features, which could lead to inconsistent user experiences. meglio acknowledges this issue and confirms Mandrill no longer has a free tier. meglio shares a personal experience of manually switching providers due to usage limits, suggesting a plugin could automate this. Falco agrees with sam, emphasizing that such a system could be unethical due to the risk of violating provider terms of service.

1

Mandrill gives 12k free emails per month.
Sendgrid gives another 12k free emails per month.
… and there are more of such providers.

It would be cool to sign up with a few and enter the corresponding SMTP authorization details of all of them in a config file and set a quota, i.e:

  • Mandrill: username, password, 11900 (first 11900 emails)
  • Sendgrid: username, password, 11900 (next 11900 emails)
  • ProviderX: username, password (all the other emails)

For a growing community, would save at least $10/mo * 12mo = $120/year. The figure is especially sensitive in developing countries like Ukraine, and especially for non-profit communities.

Feature Requests: Separate Email Account for Digests
2

I get the problem and desire to keep costs down but this kind of feature can not be in core, it sends a weird message to the mail providers, it would have to be a plugin

2 个赞
3

Sam, may you please explain what you mean here.

4

The reason mail providers start charging after N emails is cause they want you to pay

5

Mandrill has no free tier any more so this topic is not even correct.

6

This would create a really inconsistent UX too, mandrill integrates with the content itself, allowing users to unsubscribe and even blacklist a sender.

If a Discourse instance sent mail via multiple providers none of these things would work.

3 个赞
7

Going point. Didn’t think about it.

Oh, so I’m the lucky one using an old account with free 12k emails per month :slight_smile:

1 个赞
8

I run out of 100k emails with a free SparkPost account, and had to manually switch settings to SendGrid for a few days, then switch it back again - each time rebuilding.

Such a plugin would still be very helpful, especially taking into account the new “bouncing email webhooks” feature, which would make switching more smooth in terms of maintaining low bouncing rates.

1 个赞
9

Reinforcing what @sam said, this is as an unethical exploit of free tiers. Can’t be supported in core.

7 个赞