Import User - Break Overwrite to Two Parts: 1) Overwrite Name and Attributes 2) Overwrite Subscription Status

[arbialexandri]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Currently when a list is imported and contains users that are already in the system, if existing such users have bounces registered, their subscription status against the lists they belong to becomes blocklisted which skews that data.

It is good to keep the fact that a specific users was unsubscribed from a specific list(s) themselves and never update that data when a list is imported and Overwrite is enabled. Keeping users' bounces independent of users' subscription can help these data points to remain exclusively separated which are helpful analytics data to have.

Describe the solution you'd like
I suggest, if the Overwrite feature can be broken into two parts, it will help those who want to keep the data as described above separate or overwrite to update users with bounces to also be considered and unsubscribed.

Break the feature to the following where each will update the corresponding data as all is done now under one toggle switch:

1. Overwrite User Info (name, attributes, ...)
2. Overwrite Subscription Status

[MaximilianKohler]

#2192
#2452

:(

[github-actions]

This issue has been marked 'stale' after 90 days of inactivity. If there is no further activity, it will be closed in 7 days.

[arbialexandri]

@knadh it seems all prior and similar such requests have expired similar to the one here which is near expiration. I wonder if this type of change is something that can considered in near future releases.

[knadh]

Hi @arbialexandri. This expiry bot is a bit annoying, but unfortunately, I've no other mechanism to keep the number of open issues in check for mounting indefinitely and becoming unmanageable. If someone hasn't picked up an issue ("Assign"), or there are no comments, the both marks it as stale.

That said, this issue, I've just assigned to myself and will try to ship in the next version. Prima facie, implementation look straight forward.

[arbialexandri]

Hi @knadh, I completely understand the challenges on your end and I do appreciate you taking some time and looking into this once more and personally taking over its development.

[abulka]

I strongly support this proposal.

My workflow relies on periodically re-importing users into Listmonk to keep their attributes in sync with external data sources. Currently, I cannot do this without overwriting the user's unsubscribe status.

This presents a significant compliance risk.

If a user has explicitly opted out, but an attribute sync inadvertently marks them as "subscribed" again, we risk sending unauthorized emails to that user. Accidental resubscription directly undermines the integrity of user consent and could lead to violations of strict regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM, which mandate that opt-out requests be honored permanently.

Decoupling attribute updates from subscription status is essential for using the Import tool safely without legal exposure.

[henrysingleton]

Thanks for clarifying the current behaviour @abulka , I was trying to figure this out from the documentation and it wasn't clear if setting overwrite to true would also re-subscribe any imported users that had previously unsubscribed.

In my situation I'm less concerned about compliance and more concerned about annoying my users. It would be great to have that more granular overwrite option to avoid changing unsubscribed status.

[timephy]

Hey, I'd like to have such an option as well! It'd be highly useful!

[timephy]

Thank you very much!
Happy new year!