On GateOverflow, we observed a common user pattern:
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Users are highly active for the first 1–2 years and want all site emails
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Over time, activity reduces and users prefer only specific updates
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Some users want only Test Series notifications, while opting out of everything else
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Others want important admin emails no matter what
Unfortunately, the default Question2Answer email system does not provide this level of control.
To solve this, the GateOverflow team has developed a custom Email Management Plugin for Question2Answer that gives full control to both admins and users over email notifications.
The plugin introduces a managed email notification system where:
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Admins define which email events exist
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Admins decide which emails are mandatory
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Users decide exactly which emails they want to receive
Admin Features
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Add, edit, activate, or deactivate email event types
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Configure:
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User-visible label
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Email subject (direct text or language key)
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Forced emails (cannot be unsubscribed)
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Minimum user level required to see that email event
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Dynamic “Add Event” system from admin panel
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Default email events auto-created on plugin install
User Features
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New “Email Preferences” section on the Account page
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Enable or disable emails event-by-event
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Option to receive remaining unmanaged emails
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Smart defaults for newly registered users
Email Sending Logic
The plugin overrides qa_send_notification() and follows this logic:
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Identify email subject / event
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If active & forced → send email
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Load user preferences
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If inactive or unmanaged, check “other emails” preference
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If active & managed, check if user enabled the event
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Otherwise → skip sending email
This ensures zero unwanted emails, without losing critical communications.
Interested users can download the plugin from the GitHub repository: https://github.com/GATEOverflow/q2a-email-management
