| Author |
Topic Search Topic Options
|
Dirty_Dawg
Newbie
Joined: 08 January 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 4
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Topic: Delete Outdated Email Addresses Posted: 08 January 2004 at 11:00am |
I own a database SQL 7.0, and in that database there are a large number of outdated email addresses.
Is there a program that can identify the outdated addresses and remove them?
I am not a DBA so please take that into consideration.
Thanks
|
 |
michael
Senior Member
Joined: 08 April 2002
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 4670
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: 08 January 2004 at 5:15pm |
|
There are COM Components that can verify if an email address exists, thus with all the latest anti-spam measure I think most mail server are not going to let you do that anymore. One issue you will have is, if you verify each address, it would to a query using your smtp so you smtp could get blacklisted failry quick.
|
|
|
 |
Mart
Senior Member
Joined: 30 November 2002
Status: Offline
Points: 2304
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: 08 January 2004 at 5:19pm |
|
Couldnt you do a DNS query on the address (but without the @) if it
fails remove it, if its a success leave it. Im sure you can find a COM
capable of doing that.
|
 |
Dirty_Dawg
Newbie
Joined: 08 January 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 4
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: 08 January 2004 at 5:24pm |
Thanks that is something we have dicussed, and we did want to avoid being thrown on a anti-spam list.
Also even though all the e-mail is self-populated many of the listings have long forgotten that they even registered.
So much SPAM is going around it is easy to be confused.
I have even considered sending a email that asked them to verify their information as being correct, and when they do that by clicking a verifying link only the good records are in the database.
That is kind of a final effort, and starting from zero.
I feel over 60% of the records are dead records that have never been updated, as many have changed their email address.
Thanks for your response.
|
 |
dpyers
Senior Member
Joined: 12 May 2003
Status: Offline
Points: 3937
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: 08 January 2004 at 6:39pm |
Dirty_Dawg wrote:
I have even considered sending a email that asked them to verify their information as being correct, and when they do that by clicking a verifying link only the good records are in the database. |
I think that many of us would not respond to an email like that. To much like recent Paypal and MS scams.
The only real way to do this, lacking any last-login info, is to send them an email and catch the bounce-backs. If you have last-login info, just wipe the ones over a year old.
Consider getting a similar sounding domain name and a $5 per month unix account somewhere that offers news letters. Send them an email from that account reminding them of all the great features on your site that they should come to look at. Catch the bounce backs.
At the end of the month, cancel the unix account. Your out-of-pocket is $15-$20 US.
|
Lead me not into temptation... I know the short cut, follow me.
|
 |
Dirty_Dawg
Newbie
Joined: 08 January 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 4
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: 08 January 2004 at 7:59pm |
Sounds like a plan to consider.
I have sent a test message out and captured the bounce backs. The problem is deleting each one. There are several thousand.
I have the databse down to 170,000 and about 60 plus percent is dead addresses. So to pull the address of eachbounce back to take many hours.. days.
Thanks for the input.. I like the idea.
|
 |
dpyers
Senior Member
Joined: 12 May 2003
Status: Offline
Points: 3937
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: 08 January 2004 at 10:24pm |
You don't want to deal with that may by hand?
If you use the Unix option, put the "TO" email address on some tagged line in the body (e.g. "We have your email address listed as:"). In Unix, you can grep the tagged lines out into a file. You could probably grep the "TO" lines out of the headers, but there might be a few more characters to get rid off, and some mail servers screw with the headers a little.
If you've already gotten the bouncebacks, you should be able to put together a quick asp script to pull the info out into a file that can be run into another script to delete the records with those addresses.
Edited by dpyers
|
Lead me not into temptation... I know the short cut, follow me.
|
 |
Dirty_Dawg
Newbie
Joined: 08 January 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 4
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: 09 January 2004 at 9:15am |
Thanks for your input. The DBA that was trying to write a script finally gave up, and started looking for an off the shelf solution.
At this time he has not found one.
I appreciate your time to offer your input
|
 |