Help! Opens missing from stats

[rawiri]

I'm using MLM 3.0.3 and using the MYSQL option. I've installed it on one of my clients' sites. All of that seems to be working well. I'm just doing test sends at the moment using 3 of my own email addresses - GMail, company provided address, ISP provided address.

The stats are tracking the links I click in all 3 emails just fine, but won't register my having opened emails sent to my company provided address. So for one of my tests, e.g., where I sent only to my company address, I have 200% clicks and 0% opens. Impossible you say - apparently not.

I have definitely opened it - not just previewed it. It's not anything to do with my email app (Mac OS X.7.1 - Mail) because I use that for both my company and ISP provided accounts and it's showing the ISP address opens just fine. Both my company mail and my client's site/mail are hosted on the same shared server - could that have anything to do with it?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[stanbusk]

Is remote picture viewing available on your mail software? The tracking is made by getting a remote picture with a forward to MLM on your site. If remote picture viewing is blocked or you open the message from the junk folder, no tracking is recorded.

 

[rawiri]

As I mentioned I use the same Mail software to access both my work address (open tracking not working) and my ISP provided address and open tracking works just fine from that account. Also there are visible graphics in the email which work properly and the emails are definitely in my normal inbox (not spam/junk) as I've already whitelisted emails from the newsletter sending address.

 

[stanbusk]

Have you looked at the source of the message that doesn't trigger the opening tracking? Do you see the MLM code? '/lm.php'?

 

[rawiri]

I can see in the raw source code where MLM has added the code for the tracking image -

<img src=3D"http://www.mailscanner.tv/1x1spacer.gif" width=3D"1" height=3D"=
1" alt=3D"Web Bug from http://www.mysite.com/mbmailer/lm/lm.php?tk=
=3DTmV3c2RvdWcJRGlnZ2VyCQluZXdzbGV0dGVyc0Bkb3VndGhlZGlnZ2VyLmNvLm56CU1MTSBz=
dGF0cyB0ZXN0IDIJMjUJUm9hZHNob3cJMQlvcGVuCW5vCW5v&url=3D" />

Do you think that perhaps the spam settings on this account may be a bit more restrictive or something and are blocking the mailscanner.tv domain somehow?

 

[stanbusk]

I think your HTML code has some unclosed tag. As a result the tracking code is enclosed in the ALT tag:

<img src="http://www.mailscanner.tv/1x1spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" alt="Web Bug from http://www.mysite.com/mbmailer/lm/lm.php?tk
=TmV3c2RvdWcJRGlnZ2VyCQluZXdzbGV0dGVyc0Bkb3VndGhlZGlnZ2VyLmNvLm56CU1MTSBzdGF0cyB0ZXN0IDIJMjUJUm9hZHNob3cJMQlvcGVuCW5vCW5v&url=" />

This code is clearly wrong.

 

[rawiri]

The code for the rest of the html email is composed in Dreamweaver and I didn't see any warnings from that app about unclosed tags. Also strange that it still works with the other two email accounts including one accessed via the same email app. I'll double-check though. Hopefully that's it. Thanks for your help thus far.

 

[stanbusk]

If you think the code is correct then the problem is the server, perhaps they are running a buggy spam filtering software. It is clear that the code received is wrong since all the MLM tag in inside a ALT tag. The correct should be:

<img src="http://www.mysite.com/mbmailer/lm/lm.php?tk
=TmV3c2RvdWcJRGlnZ2VyCQluZXdzbGV0dGVyc0Bkb3VndGhlZGlnZ2VyLmNvLm56CU1MTSBzdGF0cyB0ZXN0IDIJMjUJUm9hZHNob3cJMQlvcGVuCW5vCW5v&url=" height="1" width="1" />

just above the </body> tag, indeed, to insert the tracking code MaxBulk Mailer replaces the </body> tag with its code + the </body> tag.

Go to the preview and select 'View Source' from the 'Eye' menu. Do you get the correct tracking code?

 

[rawiri]

Thanks again for all your ongoing help tracking down this problem. It's really confusing, especially since the full stats are working with the other email address.

Following your instructions to view the source in MBM using the "Eye" menu, I don't see any tracking code just the normal </body> tag

Viewing the raw source in OS X Mail app here is the code that I see in the (ISP provided) address (both Click and Open tracking is working properly with this address):

<img src=3D"http://www=2Emysite=2Ecom/mbmailer/lm/lm=2Ephp?tk=
=3DRGF2ZQkJCXRoZV9tYWNAc2xpbmdzaG90LmNvLm56CU1MTSBzdGF0cyB0ZXN0CTI0CURhdmVc=
XFwncyBUZXN0IExpc3QJMwlvcGVuCW5vCW5v&url=3D" height=3D"1" width=3D"1" />
</body>

Here is the code that I see in the (work provided) address from which only the Clicks but NOT the Opens are being tracked:

<img src=3D"http://www.mailscanner.tv/1x1spacer.gif" width=3D"1" height=3D"=
1" alt=3D"Web Bug from http://www.mysite.com/mbmailer/lm/lm.php?tk=
=3DTmV3c2RvdWcJRGlnZ2VyCQluZXdzbGV0dGVyc0Bkb3VndGhlZGlnZ2VyLmNvLm56CU1MTSBz=
dGF0cyB0ZXN0IDIJMjUJUm9hZHNob3cJMQlvcGVuCW5vCW5v&url=3D" />
</body>

Both of these messages came from the exact same MBM mail out. Are you saying that the different server's spam software is somehow rewriting that tracking code differently? :?:

 

[stanbusk]

The first code is right, the second is plain wrong/corrupt. The only explanation I see is that something on your server is processing the message and stripping the message. I don't see other explanation.

 

[rawiri]

Ok. Thanks again for all your help. The mail server in question is using the industry standard Spam Assassin. I'll see if tweaking SA's settings makes a difference. I've whitelisted e-mails from the newsletter send out address in my Mail app, I wonder if whitelisting it via SA will make a difference?

 

[stanbusk]

I am not sure of that, not sure if whitelisting will prevent the spam filter to process the message. Anyway a spam filter should never change the message contents. I find all this quit weird to say the true.