Rules vary around the world, but I’d suggest that allowing users to unsubscribe to all forums/topics without logging in is what you are wanting to achieve. If you did that, then if users want to select which bits they subscribe/unsubscribe to, then they can unsubscribe to all, and then login to select. Forcing login to subscribe is not as far as I know illegal in any country.
So to achieve an unsubscribe to all without login (and given that few people will really use this), I would do the following.
1. install a contact form plugin (if you don’t already have one say contact form 7)
2. then create a contact form that simply has a field asking for email address (text maybe ‘please confirm your email address’, a submit button, and text that on submission says something like ‘thankyou for unsubscribing, you may receive emails for a short period until the unsubscribe process is complete’ On submission, set up the form to send an email to you telling you the email address, and if the plugin allows (contact form 7 does) a second email to the user confirming that you have received the unsubscribe request and re-itrating that they may receive some emails in between.
3. Create an Unsubscribe WordPress page and add the contact form to it.
4. install
bbp style pack
once activated go to
dashboard>settings>bbp style pack>Subscription Emails
click item 4 to enable custom emails, and in items 7 & 8 add a sentence after “Login and visit the topic to unsubscribe” saying “To unsubscribe from all emails, click here” and have that as a link to the WordPress page.
5. then go into
dashboard>settings>bbp style pack>subscription management and turn this on.
Ok so that is all to set it up.
So when a user clicks, he will be taken to that page, asked to confirm his email address, and then they are told in an email what will happen. You will get am email, so then you would go into
dashboard>users>all users and find the user by their email address using the ‘search’. Using the ‘subscriptions’ link under their username, you will see all ghat they are subscribed to, and you can unsubscribe them. If you like, you can then send them a further email confirming that the unsubs cribe process has been successful, or even asking if they want their account deleted – whatever you feel.
Thanks Robin, that seems like a good way to provide an “unsubscribe from all” option (and I’ve been running bbp style pack for years now, so that’s already in place). What I was really looking for, though, is a link in the email to unsubscribe from that specific forum/topic. I’m guessing that’s not really possible? BTW, I looked it up in the GDPR, and the wording is that emails must provide “an option to unsubscribe.” Seems like the out-of-the-box method (with the “Login and visit the topic to unsubscribe from these emails” text) meets that standard, so this issue is really about convenience rather than compliance (I think). Also, it appears that the unsubscribe option requirement may only apply to “marketing emails,” which would make forum subscription emails exempt. Anyway, is it possible to have an “unsubscribe from this forum/topic” link?
GDPR is less difficult to interpret than say the stateside ‘can-spam’ regs.
according to
https://gdpr.eu/email-encryption/#:~:text=And%20you%20must%20also%20make,is%20it%20violating%20the%20GDPR.
‘And you must also make it easy for people to change their mind and opt-out. Only if a marketing email does not present the option to unsubscribe, is sent to someone who never signed up for it, or does not advertise a service related to one the receiver uses is it violating the GDPR.’
Can-spam is much less clear.
Having a “unsubscribe from this forum/topic” link?” should be doable, but I’d not do this for free, as it is a bunch of code I’d need to work out, as it would need to fire code from a webiste link, probably using a unique code – lots of work.
OK, thanks. I’ll have to consider whether it’s worth the trouble/expense to go that route. I appreciate the quick response.
