AnotherOpus

Okay, I tested and got the level one form to work–but I don’t know if it is only the display working — without the above error– or if the form will work or fail when somebody uses it.

I changed:

desc=”1 Month @ $10.00 / then $10.00 USD

to:

desc=”1 Month @ $10.00 / then $10 USD

…and I changed:

ra=”10.00”

to:

ra=”10”

Now the form displays without the pink error box–but I don’t know if I broke something else by changing the shortcode created by s2Member.

If this was really the issue, then s2Member needs to be updated so that the page which creates the shortcode will create the correct shortcode.

Chris
s2Member Pro Beta Tester
Paying license owner/volunteer

Hello Bruce,

Thank you for the follow up.

Thank you for the log explanations. A handy, super, wonderful addition to s2Member would be a section where the logs could be looked at! –INSIDE of s2Member, inside of WordPress.

– – –

I dropped the server check tool file (s2member-server-check-120703.php) into our site’s root folder, ran it, saw that it advises to be logged in as an Admin, logged in and hit the page again, and everything comes up with green check marks and passes. It was refreshing to see that everything is working with that area–at least one thing is green :)

– – –

Bruce, can you please explain more about this (it’s the FIRST TIME I’ve heard about this related to iTunes):

Unless you set up this integration with Dashboard -› s2Member® -› API / Notifications -› Payment Notifications, there’s no way for iTunes to know when a user has canceled their membership…

Inside of s2Member® -› API / Notifications -› Payment Notifications, it says:

…the URLs that you list below, will be notified each time an actual payment occurs…

I honestly don’t know where to start to tell iTunes anything using this Payment Notification URL feature. Is there a section here at s2Member on using this with iTunes?

And maybe I don’t understand something, but:

1. I don’t think iTunes wants to get thousands of notifications from us each month as member payments occur.

2. I don’t see how sending payment success messages to iTunes each month will change anything. iTunes doesn’t manage our user access–s2Member does that.

– – –

How does s2Member handle the authentication between iTunes and Amazon S3? That’s where the answer to one issue lies.

Thank you,

Chris

Cool – Thanks.

For the record I did the FTP upload on the sites.

Thank you for the answers and the links.

I realize most membership sites focus on access rather than WordPress default capabilities.

Now I’m dreaming of a “Role Locker” plugin that will preserve role capabilities :) But I see if I use the s2M role locking link I should be relatively safe.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by  AnotherOpus.

Seeking refined answers…

1. Does 2Member remove authentication for iTunes when a member is downgraded or cancelled?

2. When does s2Member remove authentication for iTunes when a member is downgraded or cancelled?

– a. At the EOT date

– b. After the EOT date

3. Does s2Member do the above for manually added member records (i.e. those without Subscriber ID)?

4. How can we remove authentication for members who have access but should not?

Wow Christian!

I would never know to look for these by name! “Orphans.”

I’m going to dig in and see what I can learn and use.

Thank you,

Chris

Thank you for the answers. One more important question.

s2Member is tightly linked into PayPal with APIs, keys, IDs, tokens, Subscription IDs, Transaction IDs, staples, duct tape and bailing wire.

s2Member talks to PayPal to START a recurring PayPal transaction for a membership.

How can admins cancel a membership on our site so that…

s2Member talks to PayPal to END the recurring PayPal transaction for that membership?

If a user has an s2Member generated PayPal Subscription ID and Transaction ID then in the WordPress Admin interface for a user record there can be a button that can generate an end to the recurring transaction. All the pieces are waiting to be assembled.

When a member emails a site asking to cancel their membership, and for whatever reason they won’t go to the Cancel Membership page, creating one off buttons for individual subscribers, and logging into two systems to cancel an account and payments is not productive use of time for s2Member Admins (s2Member customers).

Send a survey out to all s2M Pro customers, in fact to all s2M customers, ask if they’d like to have this button available on user records inside the Admin interface.

The goal here is a one click button on a user record that Admins can use to EOT membership AND stop recurring transactions. The wiring is already there.

1. Display a WordPress user record.
2. Can s2M and PayPal talk?
3. Does user have a Transaction ID?
4. Does user have a Subscription ID?
5. Display button.
6. On Click: EOT and notify PayPal to cancel subscription.

Things like this in an Admin Panel would help s2Member customers have a much easier user experience with the s2Member product much the way AOL made the Internet accessible to millions and millions of people who couldn’t, wouldn’t or didn’t want to deal with protocols and ugly new words like HTTP, SMTP, POP3, etc. And more than a few of the original people who worked at AOL are now retired and independently wealthy because AOL understood that making the user experience painless was profitable.

s2Member is the D11T Caterpillar of website membership systems, but it requires the operator to manually do so many automate-able tasks.

Jason,

s2Member is a program made for programmers. Yes, there are videos–I’ve spent HOURS inside of them after I get frustrated searching Google and the massive s2Member forums, trying to find where and how to do everything s2Member advertises it does–and more importantly everything s2Member SHOULD do from a USER perspective.

I echo (not a PHP “echo”–just a repeat) Peter R above.

Almost every tool on the internet has a 30 day period after purchase where a new user can REALLY get their feet wet. Even with that (unfortunately) s2Member is so vast and comprehensive it takes a few months to learn that s2Member is not really owner friendly.

And I also echo the tragic truth that most membership systems embrace mediocrity while s2Member ebraces PHP/MySQL programmers.

And lastly it is bald arrogance not refunding a purchase within the 30 day period and pointing to a purchase policy.

Your $ 116.00 non-refund energizes me to let anyone and everyone know two things.

1. S2Member is a superlative website membership choice IF you have deep PHP/MySQL abilities or staff. Otherwise it’s an owner’s nightmare were just using it requires a weekly adventure into the s2Member forums and deep Google searching.

2. I will do my best to promote the knowledge that s2Member has no competitor. And competition is the best thing for making a product better. So while you enjoy the $ 116.00 I paid for the s2Member Pro version, please remember the classic idea that nature abhors a vacuum. And there is a gaping vaccuum in the WordPress, membership management application world. I hope somebody with the right capital will come along and grab this absolutely huge market.

Lastly, for anyone reading this thread, yes–s2Member is the defacto standard for WordPress member management systems. And it is a sad defacto. It works 100% “as advertised.” But it is an arrogantly managed application geared towards programmers and not users. The purpose of WordPress is lost in the minds of s2Member. WordPress was designed (AND SUCCEEDS because of this) for NON-PROGRAMMERS who want to USE the internet, and USE websites–not manage them and live behind the code curtain trying to get things done.

If anyone wants to know the closest competitor it is this http://member.wishlistproducts.com/.

No, it cannot do everything that s2Member does. Nothing can–today.

But if you’re looking for a user friendly membership management application then the Wishlist Products membership platform is the only choice for you.

If you love programming, and tinkering and using Hooks, and custom APIs, then by all means live inside s2Member–it’s designed for you.

However if you want a membership manager system for your WordPress website because you use your website and prefer not to manage your website–run, don’t walk–run to wishlist.

Christopher
Former s2Member Advocate and Frequent Forum Searcher

Hello Dave,

I hope you don’t get your cape caught on anything when you take off.

Thank you for this. I will be glad to test it out.

And forgive me for something I don’t understand–I’m not a pro coder–why is the directory /mu-plugins/ ?

And how will s2M know to leverage the code in that folder?

Thank you, seriously, thank you!

Chris

Note to s2M. This would be a goooooood s2M feature.

Thank you Mark!