AOL Compatible forms?? 1

[Sottini]

Hi All,

I have developed a number of websites that use feedback forms etc., but all the AOL users end up sending blank emails. I'm sure this is because they only use SMTP and still do not offer POP3 mailboxes!
However, I need to find a way of making my forms 'AOL friendly' so my clients are not losing money by getting blank email requests. Could anyone enlighten me as to how this is possible? I can use CGI but not PHP, and I'd rather do it with JavaScript or HTML if at all possible....

Thanks

 

[tviman]

I may be wrong but if your form is viewable by an AOL user then it's not an AOL problem. I have developed 100's of sites with many types of web forms and all are usable by AOL users. You might want to take another look at your form processing routines.

A word of note: a lot of spammers will use phony AOL addresses . There has been a rash of this going around for the past 4 or 5 months. These spammers harvest email addresses from web sites and send their spam to these addresses. Many of the messages appear to be blank but are, in fact, malformed, multi-part mime messages. Before you start pulling your hair out, check the source of the "blank" email messages your clients are receiving. I think you'll find that most, if not all, are spam.

To help "hide" your email addresses from harvesters, do something like this wherever and email address would appear on your web pages:

<SCRIPT>
var username = &quot;sales&quot;;
var hostname = &quot;mywebsite.com&quot;;
var linktext = username + &quot;@&quot; + hostname;
document.write(&quot;<a href=&quot; + &quot;mail&quot; + &quot;to:&quot; + username +
&quot;@&quot; + hostname + &quot;>&quot; + linktext + &quot;</a>&quot
</script>

There's always a better way...

 

[Sottini]

Hi,

Thanks for that, but I have tested it using AOL dial-up and ADSL and whilst the forms show up, I can never receive any mails from AOL customers. On the site I manage, nearly 25% of daily views are AOL and the only emails I receive from them is after they click the &quot;AOL Users click here to mail us&quot; button on the page....And these mails arive without fail!

Here is the header form my form....

<form ACTION=&quot;mailto:sales@xyz.co.uk?subject=Catalogue Request&quot; ENCTYPE=&quot;text/plain&quot; METHOD=&quot;post&quot; NAME=&quot;cat_request&quot;>

The whole table is laid it out as part of a form, but that's never caused a problem. This example is not handled by scripts at all, but it is still only AOL addresses I get blank mails from!

Sy

 

[tviman]

That being the case, then I suspect your form action is the culprit. Rather than use a form action that is initiated by a submit button, you'd probably be better off using an <A HREF=> tag - just like the one at the bottom of your other pages. There's always a better way...

 

[Sottini]

Hi again,

Don't think I don't appreciate this coz I do. And I thought I was up on html as well, but how do I send a form using an <A HREF=> tag? Surely the form needs to be submitted somehow? I am not proficient in Perl, for exanmple, so I cannot use a CGI opf my own devising. Pray let me in on the secret? OK, Please? <g>

 

[cian]

I personally would NEVER use ACTION=&quot;mailto:
I also don't think it's professional.

Just use some perl or php script. I know you said you are not proficient in perl or php but neither am I yet I use 20+ perl and php scripts in different places in my site.

Just download 1 of the thousands of form processing scripts, edit the HTML and hey presto!

http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/Form_Processing/

http://php.resourceindex.com/Complete_Scripts/Form_Processing/

http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Tips_and_Tutorials/Form_Processing/

Search on google for:
form processing php
form processing perl
form processing cgi
etc


É ::

http://www.endamcg.com

 

[Sottini]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I delved into a little book I saw dedicated to PHP/Apache/MySQL and found a form verification script that I customised.

As an aside, could you tell me why you think it is unprofessional? Is it because you are exposing your email address to spammers? I have done 3 HTML/web design courses and never been told any other way!

I'm glad you pointed this out because I think the script/response page approach is much more slick!

 

[cian]

You answered your own question, it's much more slick.
To me the idea of having the form in the first place is to send the information directly without the need for the email client. I just think it looks very bad making users fill out a form which will just use their email.
Doesn't always work either, whereas your form-processing-scrpt will (should) always work and will not depend on the users mail client.



É ::

http://www.endamcg.com

 

[JillC]

Cian is right.

The reasons it is unprofessional to use action=mailto

1 It is unreliable, not just AOL users are not getting through, lots of others are lost as well
2 It is open to spam harvesters
3 It relies on the user's own emailer (which might not be the current operator's reply address)

Go to this FAQ for more info

http://www.vortex-webdesign.com/help/faq.htm#formaction

Jill

 

[sc123]

Scott,
I am also having the AOL issue, and was wondering if you'd be so kind as to post a link to your customized script so that I can attempt my own. I don't have time to read through all the docs at the moment.
Thanks,
SC

 

[Sottini]

Hi,

The scripts I used can be downloaded at

http://www.premierpressbooks.com/downloads.asp

I used the PHP scripts designed for use with MySQL and Apache Web Server, but they are easy to understand and customize.

 

[sc123]

Scott,
Could you be a little more exact please? I couldn't find that precise link.
Thanks!

 

[Sottini]

Just scroll down the page to 'PHP fast & easy web development' and download the companion files link...You are looking for scripts called 'simple_form.html' and the other is called 'send_simpleform.php'

Sorry about that!

 

[TonyU]

Have you considered CDONTS ?

http://www.4guysfromrolla.com

have a great tutorial on how to send dynamic email using CDONTS

Search for &quot;html emails&quot;

Just a thought...

[sup]

There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it over!
[/sup]

-TonyU

 

[CliveC]

sc123,
I think that the original problem may have been with the enctype. Try enctype=&quot;multipart/form-data&quot;.

Clive

http://tubularity.com

 

[sc123]

Sottini,
I found and downloaded the script, but am feeling a bit out of my own when it comes to editing it. I have it posted at

http://www.pacconline.org/simple_form.shtml

however I'm sure I'm missing a ton, as it's not functioning. Perhaps you could share the code behind your working version or give me some advice?
Thanks!
Scott