Contact the Owner

[rockabilly +]

What version of 68 Classifieds are you running?
V4.2.0 Designer

What template are you using?
Default

Please describe in detail the issue you are having:

When my guests click on the "contact owner" link on the viewlistings page, it prompts them to login.
It does not make sense for them to sign up when contacting an ad owner.

What could I do to prevent them clicking on this link, while still retaining this link for registered users?
If I remove that link, then registered users would not be able to send mail through the scripts.

I searched for a solution in the forum as I am sure this has been discussed before, but I could not find anything.

Thanks in advance.

[BigOrange +]

If I understand your question correctly...

Sign in as administrator.

Click on Users >> User Groups >> Guest

Scroll down to "This Usergroup can contact the owner" and select YES.

Click "Submit" at the bottom of the page.

That will allow visitors to contact the owner without sighing in.

[rockabilly +]

Hi,
Thanks for your help. I did have YES selected, but the problem I have is when the guests click on the "contact owner" link. It sends them to the login page. I am trying to eliminate that. It would be nice to remove that link if the registered users can see it when they are logged in.

If anyone can help me solve this, I would appreciate it.

Originally Posted by BigOrange

If I understand your question correctly...

Sign in as administrator.

Click on Users >> User Groups >> Guest

Scroll down to "This Usergroup can contact the owner" and select YES.

Click "Submit" at the bottom of the page.

That will allow visitors to contact the owner without sighing in.

[Lhotch +]

Look at the layout.tpl template for the menu. By default menu items the users see's depending on if they are logged in our not by looking at the users level. Apply the same logic around the link to contact the owner so it only displays when logged in or maybe better yet, use an if/else and if not logged in simply display the test "login to contact ownr".

[seymourjames +]

This is a problem in the template in my opinion. I believe the test Larry refers to needs to go into the file with pathname viewlisting/listingsextra.tpl . Around this


{if $pmon=="Y" && $allowcontact=="Y"}
{if $smarty.session.username<>'' || $smarty.cookies.username<>""}
<span class="contact"><a href="{$smarty.const.URL}/private.php?action=contactowner&view={$view}" rel="nofollow">{$smarty.const.LANG_CONTACT_OWNER}</a></span>
{/if}
{/if}

[Mike-N-Tosh +]

Originally Posted by rockabilly

When my guests click on the "contact owner" link on the viewlistings page, it prompts them to login.
It does not make sense for them to sign up when contacting an ad owner.

Actually, it does make sense from the simple fact that allowing a non-registered user to contact an owner sends email directly to them, which is of course coming from YOUR website. This means that ANYONE can send SPAM through this vehicle to others coming from your website and domain. Not only annoying to the sellers (your customers) of items on your website, but could also get your domain listed in several databases that track those things. As well as the lists sent amongst spammers that your domain can be used for sending SPAM email.

[seymourjames +]

No it doesn't make any sense really. You can use the same contact form with a capture whether you are logged in or not. Unless you are going to really sit there and see who registers. His point is why have a link in that place if the person is not logged on even and a contact form just beside it.

At the end of the day, a spammer is going to spam there is nothing to prevent it. Nothing will work against a professional spammer. They simply move from one site to another after a while so the authorities find it more difficult track them.

A really interesting idea would be that the ip address of the visitor is tracked and you can limit the number of times they can use the contact form per unit of time for example.

[rockabilly +]

I agree. I set the script so that registered users and guest all are required to use the contact form.
It's better this way so guests do not flee when their are prompted to login.
Is there was a way to configure the "contact the owner" link so when you click on it, it will take you to the contact form, regardless of being registered, or a guest?

Thanks for your help.

Originally Posted by seymourjames

No it doesn't make any sense really. You can use the same contact form with a capture whether you are logged in or not. Unless you are going to really sit there and see who registers. His point is why have a link in that place if the person is not logged on even and a contact form just beside it.

At the end of the day, a spammer is going to spam there is nothing to prevent it. Nothing will work against a professional spammer. They simply move from one site to another after a while so the authorities find it more difficult track them.

A really interesting idea would be that the ip address of the visitor is tracked and you can limit the number of times they can use the contact form per unit of time for example.

[Mike-N-Tosh +]

We may be confusing two different things here. There is Contact the owner form, which shows on the viewlisting page and there is private messaging link. I believe that you are referring to the private messaging link. This is something that I have never liked since the addition of the private messaging feature, because the link does indeed say, "Contact the Owner". If this is what you are referring to, then of course you would have to be logged in, because a guest doesn't have an account to send a Private Message from.

You said that you want both registered users and guests to use the contact form, so if that is the case, then just turn private messaging off in the admin. However if you still want to use that for registered users, then follow the advice given by either seymourjames or lhotch for the link.

something like:
{if session.username}
link
{/if}

You may even want to change the text for the link to something like "Private Message the Seller"

[seymourjames +]

Just remove the link and get the contact form to display on the viewlisting.tpl file whether you are logged in or not. Why would you even want to show the link if there is a contact form right next to it. It will be surplus to requirements.

To be clear - I personally remove all references to private messages from the layout file, from the viewlsitings, within the account management area and just use the normal contact form on the view listings whether someone is logged on or not. I also remove the contact owner link as it is no longer necessary.