TMM Insider - Vol I, Issue 9 - TMM/NATS Updates!

[TMM_John]

TMM Insider - Vol I, Issue 9
December 2008/January 2009

Recent News
~~~~~~~~~~~

=== Using X-Sendfile to Improve CARMA Performance ===
Back in June, we announced that CARMA now supports the Apache x-sendfile module.
Using this module will allow Apache to easily serve content files to your
surfers without going through a php script. Using this feature can greatly
improve your servers performance with CARMA, especially if you have large
amounts of traffic going through CARMA. If you wish to take advantage of this
feature, please submit a support ticket in the ticket system.

=== New TooMuchMedia.com Website ==
Recently Too Much Media launched its totally resdesigned Web site! Each page
now features a login to our ticket system. The new search box will now search
all of the TMM-Related sites for what you may be looking for. We've updated the
information concerning all of our products and features. We've also re-vamped
the internal ticket system so that you can easily view past tickets or invoices.
Check out the new site today at http://www.toomuchmedia.com


=== New FREE NATS Code Wordpress Add-on ===
The new NATS Code Wordpress Plugin turns Wordpress into an adtool. It
lets you automatically insert affiliate NATS codes in your Wordpress
posts by replacing [nats] with the referring affiliate's linkcode.
You can download or learn more about the plugin at the following TMMWiki
article:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.p...rdpress_Plugin

=== New PPPCash and Trustcard API ===
NATS supports the new PPPCash and Trustcard API that enables member rebills.
If you want this new feature, please submit an upgrade ticket.


Recent Additions and Bug Fixes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NATS 4.0
~~~~~~~~

=== nats_list_linkcodes Available for Emails ===
We've made the NATS template function, nats_list_linkcodes, available
on email you send to your affiliates, so you'll be able to easily
send them current linkcodes. For details and examples, please see the
following article:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.p...list_linkcodes

=== Making CCBill Refunds Expire ===
CCBill doesn't include expiration dates on refund transactions in its
poll, so NATS didn't expire the members. Recent changes let NATS expire the
members correctly even without an expiration date.

=== Smarty Functions Now Available on Poll Emails ===
You can now use Smarty functions on email sent to members and affiliates
after a poll.

=== Member Email Address Decryption ===
We fixed several places where NATS template data used encrypted member
addresses incorrectly.

=== FHG Thumbnail Mix-Up ===
When you added a new FHG to NATS, NATS downloaded the thumbnail from the
URL you specified and put that thumbnail on the NATS server so
affiliates could see it, but instead of making the image URL point to
the NATS thumbnail, NATS pointed to the original thumbnail. Our fix
makes NATS point to its thumbnail.

=== Adtools Can Be Sorted Naturally ===
NATS sorts your adtools using a MySQL string comparison. For example,
numbers are sorted in the following order: 1, 10, 2. You can enable
the following configuration option to have adtools sorted using a
natural string comparison. For example: 1, 2, 10.

$config['ADTOOLS_NATSORT'] = 1;

=== Adtools Use Smarty ===
NATS now interprets Smarty code in your adtools. Any text field in an
adtool can contain Smarty.

=== Letting Users Use Their Username as Their Password ===
You can enable the following configuration option to let members set
their username as their password, a combination NATS forbids by
default.

$config['ALLOW_USER_PASS_MATCH'] = 1;

=== GXBill Canada 900 Changes ===
To correctly record Canadian GXB900 transactions, you'll need this
update. Please submit a ticket if you're interested.

=== Fixed Blank Admin Overview ===
On some versions of NATS4, clicking the Admin Overview link didn't
display any information until you chose a date. We've updated the
report so that it shows a report for the default date range.

=== Extended Sales Linkcodes ===
You can now get linkcodes for extended sales when you use the extended
sales add-on module.

=== Form Field Values Quoted ===
Forms created by the {rebuild_form} template function now enclose form
field values between quotes.

=== Manually Adding Members Postback ===
NATS can now send a postback to an external script after you manually
add a member. For details, please see the following article:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.p...ser_Management

=== Permit Sale Even If Cross Sell Fails ===
An incorrectly setup outgoing cross sell made NATS fail during both the
cross sell and the original sale. Changes to NATS let it make the
original sale even if the outgoing cross sell fails.

=== Extra Checking Prevents Expiration Errors ===
We've added extra checking to prevent expiration errors when NATS
tries to estimate the expiration time.

=== RevUpCard Payment Output Format Now Part of NATS ===
NATS now includes the RevUpCard payment output format so you don't
need to manually set it up. If you're on an older version of NATS4,
you can use the instructions at the following URL to add RevUpCard to
NATS:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.php/NATS4_RevUpCard

=== Administrator Reports Display Error ===
NATS sometimes overloaded a template variable on its administrator
reports. We changed our back-end function to use a different template
variable to prevent this display error from occurring again.

=== Transaction Data Available in Member Emails ===
You can now use transaction data in emails you send to a members
or affiliates.

=== Showing Unencoded Linkcodes for Overriding Admins ===
NATS wouldn't display unencoded linkcodes to administrators when you
override as an affiliate. We fixed this display error so that unencoded
linkcodes are always displayed when they are available.

=== Nesting Limitations ===
After adtools have been limited, using the adtool limitation form again
now combines your old and new limitations together.

=== Removed Double URL Encoding ===
Sometimes URLs in forms were URL encoded twice. We fixed this display
error.

=== Displaying the Correct Total Number of Adtools ===
We fixed a display error that printed the wrong total number of adtools
when an affiliate asked to see adtools from all sites.

=== Truncating Long URLs in Tables ===
The referring URL report adjusted to display the full URLs, so a
500-character URL made the report unreadable. The report now limits the URL
display to 50 characters, but the full URL is kept intact internally.

=== Site Partner Stats Restricted to Site Partner's Site ==
We've recently fixed a bug which allowed site partners to view stats for
sites they should not have access to.

=== NetCash Support Added to NATS4 ===
You can now use NetCash as a biller in NATS4. For more information,
please see the following article:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.php/NATS4_NetCash

=== NATS4 Supports Cross Sells To and From NATS3 {[bug|1847}} ===
You can now make cross sells from NATS4 to NATS3 and from NATS3 to
NATS4.

=== Searching for Adtools by Group ===
We've recently corrected an error which prevented searching adtools
by group.

=== Emails Accidentally Sent Without Subjects ===
There was an error which caused disabled emails to be sent with an
error message. This has been fixed in the latest version.

=== Event Mails Sent Regardless of Member's Mass Mailing Settings ===
Members can choose to not receive mass mailings from the program owner
when they sign-up. Most members choose not to receive the mass
mailings, but NATS was also not sending those members event
notifications -- for example, the join email. NATS now sends event
emails to members regardless of their mass mailing setting.

=== FHG Thumbnails Can Be Replaced ===
You can now replace the thumbnail you uploaded for a free hosted
gallery.

=== process_gateway.php Added to NATS4 ===
We've added process gateway to NATS4 so you can receive cross sells
from outside NATS. For more information, please see the following
article:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.p...s_Outside_NATS

[TMM_John]

=== New Retention Report ===
We've finished porting the retention report to NATS4.

=== Extra FHG Displayed ===
When you try to display the first 20 FHG adtools, the first 21 are
displayed. We fixed this minor display error.

=== NATS4 Now Supports CCBill Web900 Transactions ===
You can now make transactions through CCBill Web900 in NATS4.

=== NetBilling Poll Fixed to Update All Sites ===
We fixed the NetBilling poll so that it gets updated information for
all of your sites instead of just one site.

=== Updates to Epoch Member Expiration ===
NATS wasn't expiring Epoch members when Epoch sent a void, credit, or
chargeback in a poll. We fixed this error.

=== Members Can Retrieve Forgotten Passwords ===
Members can now retrieve their forgotten passwords in NATS4. For more
information, please see the following article:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.p...word_Retrieval

=== Adtools Not Limited by Default ===
Affiliates will get a paginated list of all adtools by default. To
restrict the list to a subset of the available adtools, affiliate must
enter a search criteria.

=== Site Settings Overriding Tour Settings ===
Between NATS 4.0.34.1 and 4.0.37.1, site default settings overrode tour
specific settings. This has been corrected going forward. If you are
currently in between the versions mentioned above, please submit a
support ticket to be upgraded.

=== Wrong Banner Shape Reported by NATS ===
NATS reported the wrong banner shape in some cases. We fixed this.

=== Improved Administrator Reports ===
We made numerous small improvements to the NATS4 administrator reports.

=== Over 100 New Options Added to Configuration Admin ===
Almost all the NATS configuration options that were only available to
advanced users who felt comfortable editing their configurations files
are now available in the NATS Configuration Admin. Next to each option
is a description of what changing this option can do for you.

=== Exchange Rate Temporarily Broken ===
On some versions of NATS4, the exchange rate was always zero. This issue
is fixed as of the latest version. If you are experiencing this issue,
please submit a support ticket.

=== sTrack Changes Ampersand in URLs ===
An ampersand in an strack URL was sometimes replaced with "&".
This is fixed.

=== Enabling Search by Affiliate's First or Last Name ===
We've removed a bug that prevented searching on an affiliate's first or last
name.

=== Automatically Downloading WTS IP Addresses ===
NATS will now automatically download a list of WTS IP addresses from
WTS so that you don't need to update NATS every time WTS changes their
IP addresses.

=== Payvia Field Conversions Failed When Conversion Not Needed ===
When you add a new field to a PayVia, NATS tried to convert the field
name you gave to a valid internal name, but that didn't work if the name was
already valid. We fixed it so that you can enter valid names directly.

=== nats_encode and nats_list_linkcodes Now Take userid Parameter ===
You can now generate linkcodes for a specific user using the userid
parameter. Please refer to the following wiki article for complete details:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.p...list_linkcodes

=== Automatic Cascades Enabled ===
A bug prevented NATS from processing automatic cascades. We fixed the bug.

=== Affiliates Overcharged for Credits ===
NATS deducted the biller fees for a credit twice. NATS now computes
the charge correctly.

=== NATS Sent Erroneous Notifications About Payout Failures ===
NATS told program owners that payouts failed even when they didn't and
it didn't correctly record information about the alleged payout
failure into the log. Both of these problems are fixed.

=== Downloadable Adtools Linked to Wrong Program ===
Downloadable adtools didn't grab the correct program I.D., so
affiliates weren't always credited under the correct program. This is
now fixed.

=== Member Session Information Update ==
In various places, NATS will now try to pull member information from sources
other than the session if the surfer's browser disables cookies.

=== Payvia Dump Improvements ===
We've updated the default payvia dumps so that they are more consistent and use
the correct fields throughout these dumps.

=== CSV and XML Dumps for Admin Reports ===
NATS now provides the ability to dump your admin reports in either a CSV of XML
format, allowing you to view your stats outside of NATS.

=== Weighted Cascades Bug Fix ===
The was a bug in the signup process that occured at random times when using 2
or more weighted cascades with the same description. This is fixed as of the
latest version.

=== Site Admin Internal Improvements ===
We've added better validation checks when editing a site in the Sites Admin,
making it easier for your to find any potential mistakes if you enter in bad
site information.

=== Switching Adtools Didn't Reset View Count ===
Switching from one adtool type to another didn't reset the page view
count, so going from adtool 20 on one page to another page with only five
adtools didn't show the five new adtools. This is fixed as of the latest
version.

=== Creating Adtools with Spaces in Their Names ===
You can nowcreate adtool types with spaces in the name.

=== NATS Required Unrequired Netbilling Fields ===
NATS required several fields that Netbilling doesn't require; we
no longer require the following fields: birth date, social security
number, driver license number, and state.

=== CCBill Alternative Form URLs ===
You can now choose one of the alternative form URL's for CCBill.


CARMA 1.3
~~~~~~~~~

=== Unnecessary Sound Card Finding Code Disabled ==
When generating videos with mplayer, it could take up to 10 seconds to
start generating the video as mplayer looked for a sound card. We added
sound card-disabling code to CARMA to speed up video production.

=== TOUR_ALL_VIDEOS Added to Configuration Admin ===
You can now set the TOUR_ALL_VIDEOs configuration option from within
the configuration admin. For more information, please see the
following article:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.p...OUR_ALL_VIDEOS

NATS 3.1
~~~~~~~~

=== Member Login Log Records Member IP Address ===
An update to the member login log makes NATS correctly record the
member's IP address in the member notes when they login.

=== Verifying Affiliate Account Changes ===
NATS can now display a list of affiliate account changes and let you
prevent affiliates from changing their account details without
administrator approval. For details, please see the following article:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.p...ccount_Changes

=== Cleanup Admin Speed Improvement ===
Several small changes to our back-end code can be enabled with the
following configuration variable to speed up the cleanup admin.

$config['CLEANUP_ADMIN_EXEC'] = 1;

=== Using WebCams's Amount Field ===
NATS usually gets the sale amount from the WebCams "Commission"
variable, but a configuration variable in your NATS configuration file
lets NATS get the sale amount from the WebCams "Amount" variable. For
details, please see the following article:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.php/WebCams

=== Third Parties List Sorted Alphabetically ===
We sorted the third parties list in the Third Parties Admin
alphabetically so you can quickly find specific third parties.

=== $0 Transactions Recorded ===
On version 3.1.54.1, NATS recorded legitimate CCBill 900 transactions
as $0 transactions. This is fixed in the most recent version of NATS.

=== Conversion Ratios Added to Tour Report ===
We added conversion rations for the raw and unique clicks to the tour
report.

=== Email Sent Multiple Times On Slowly Replicated Databases ===
Slowly replicated databases couldn't tell NATS when an email was sent,
so NATS sometimes sent the email several times. NATS now checks the
master database to see if the email was sent, resolving the problem.

=== Duplicate Billers Sometimes Ignored ===
NATS supports multiple instances of the same biller, but sometimes it
only used the account information for the first biller. This is fixed.

=== Retention Report Memory Usage Reduced ===
We made a few changes to the retention report to reduct the amount of
memory it uses when displayed.

=== DHD EU Debit Support ===
NATS now supports EU Debit transactions with DHD Media.


On the Hotplate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NATS 4.0
~~~~~~~~

=== Disabling Adtool Rules No Longer Resets Times ===
We're removing the code that reset adtool rule times when you disable
an adtool. You will be able to disable and re-enable time-based rules
without changing any settings.

=== NetBilling Instant Upgrades ===
NATS4 will soon support NetBilling instant upgrades.

=== Version 3 - Style Stats Page ===
We are working on adding a "basic" statistics template for your affiliates in
NATS 4.0 that will have the a similar look/feel/behavior of the NATS 3.1 stats
page.

[munki]

Ticket incoming on carma x-sendfile...

Looking good as always dood.

[TMM_John]

NATS 3.1
~~~~~~~~

=== Dialers Can Send Expiration Date ===
Instead of expiring dialer members immediately upon notice from the
dialer that their session has ended, NATS will begin accepting optional
expiration date.

=== Affiliate Sessions Limited to One IP Address Per Login ===
To prevent unauthorized entry, NATS will soon limit affiliate sessions
to one IP address per session. This lets affiliates paste a URL without
any chance of remote session hijacking.


CARMA 1.3
~~~~~~~~~
=== Restricting Access to CARMA Stats ===
The next version of CARMA will allow you to configure whether a sub-admin can
view your CARMA Stats.


TMM Insider Tip: Upgrade Plus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can offer members an incentive to upgrade from a trial account to a
full account before their trial period ends. Many billers support
Upgrade Plus natively, but NATS includes a work-around for billers that
don't support it. You can learn all about the NATS Upgrade Plus in its
TMMWiki article:

http://wiki.toomuchmedia.com/index.php/Upgrade_Plus

Contact Us
~~~~~~~~~~
If you're interested in any of the new features described in this
newsletter, please submit a support ticket at the following URL with a
brief description of the feature and we'll upgrade your system
shortly.

http://www.toomuchmedia.com/support.htm

Is there something that you want to see in this newsletter? Do you have
an idea for the TMM Insider Tip? If so, please contact the editor at
kevin.wetter/toomuchmedia/com

Thought of a new feature that would benefit all of our clients? If so,
then please submit a support ticket at http://www.toomuchmedia.com/support.htm

[tranza]

Wow, that's nice brother! Thanks for this, bump!

[robwod]

John, I just want to offer some constructive criticism here.

I've used NATS for a long time now, and, for the most part, been pretty happy with it. NATS4 is a very nice offerring, but there is one glaring exception to this... The Tools section in NATS4, particularly the FHG section, is woefully inferior to that of NATS3 in my opinion (for affiliates).

It's mind boggling how many clicks one has to take just to get some galleries, and even more clicks to get specific galleries as compared to version 3. NATS has always required a lot of clicks for this process, but NATS4 takes this excessive clicking to entirely new levels.

For my part, and for what it's worth from an affiliate standpoint, it is so frustrating to use the NATS4 tools section for FHG's that I have simply given up using the tools provided in NATS4 for some sponsors and, instead, have the program managers send me what I want directly. It's simply not worth the aggravation to deal with what I feel is an inferior, excessively time consuming FHG section.

From an admin standpoint, the system works rather well and is very familiar to NATS3's interface, thus the learning curve to upgrade is minimal, which is nice.

John, simply put, the tools section to do with FHG's needs to be simplified and streamlined far more than in its current state. I certainly would not recommend the upgrade to those with whom I work closely given my experience as of late with the tools section. NATS3, while not perfect, was a lot more streamlined for affiliates for FHG dumping and display.

Having said that, the rest of NATS4 is nice, and certainly nicely skinned. Just my $0.02.

[dready]

As an affiliate webmaster, I only care about two things... being able to select multiple sites and being able to select a date range when doing a text dump in the ad tools. It's a serious pain in the ass to have to manually enter in the output format for every single site you want separately and then manually pick the gals from the dates you want.

Been waiting years for this. It's the main reason I completely despise NATS as an affiliate.

[borked]

Wow, that's a lot of bug fixes -
Is this documented somewhere on the new wiki?

btw, fwiw, I find the search in the wiki far less productive than searching the old docs...

[borked]

=== Using X-Sendfile to Improve CARMA Performance ===
Back in June, we announced that CARMA now supports the Apache x-sendfile module.
Using this module will allow Apache to easily serve content files to your
surfers without going through a php script. Using this feature can greatly
improve your servers performance with CARMA, especially if you have large
amounts of traffic going through CARMA. If you wish to take advantage of this
feature, please submit a support ticket in the ticket system.

This was introduced last June??? And noone told EvilAngel at that time even after all those tickets?? grrrr
Still, having a cache script sorted that problem out. This should help others now.

[Nurgle]

im with u rob.. the hosted gals tool in 4 is appalling, its so unuser friendly i wont even bother with it and dont use those sponsors

[V_RocKs]

Good stuff!

[fris]

john can you icq me plz