Why was this plugin removed?

Wonder the same thing after receiving a mail “MC4WP: Mailchimp User Sync has been removed from www.ads-software.com”.

@hchouhan?

• This reply was modified 4 years, 12 months ago by anonymized-12966443.

We’ve decided to rebuild most of the UserSync features in a more solid way, and include it in our Premium add-on. That will help us provide better support for UserSync features.

You can keep using the old version for now, I do not expect any issues with that, but we are no longer providing updates or support for this version of UserSync. Of course we would love it if you update to our Premium add-on if you haven’t already. he upcoming update will have user syncing features build in, but in this newer version the usersync will not touch the subscription status, just only sync the user updates. Subscription should be done trough other ways such as a form or any other integration.

Hope that helps. If you have any questions, please let me know!

You understandably needs to make money of your work, but doesen’t this close the freemium part of Mailchimp?
I mean, if I can’t get my subscribers from my server to your server, why should I install Mailchimp?
And since you haven’t announced the end of the freemium part, what am I missing?

Regards

Hi @wejde,

You can definitely still get subscribers from your server to Mailchimp (using our free Mailchimp for WordPress plugin, for example), that is not going anywhere and will always be free.

We removed the Mailchimp User Sync (add-on) plugin from www.ads-software.com which handled a very specific feature (keeping your WordPress users database in sync with a given Mailchimp list) that was prone to a lot of issues and most users needed a custom solution. It caused a very heavy support burden on our small team, for a plugin that we tried to provide for free. So that wasn’t really sustainable, especially given its issues after Mailchimp upgraded their API to version 3 and GDPR was introduced.

As the User Sync plugin was first released while Mailchimp was still using their old API (version 2) there was a lot of technical debt that we could not get rid of without breaking everyone’s set-up, so we chose to release it as a new plugin instead. If you currently have Mailchimp User Sync installed on your website, please know that it will keep working as it is and you can keep using it and hire a developer to maintain it should you need custom changes.

I hope that clarifies a little. If not, don’t hesitate to post here and let me know.

Thank you for the swift and comprehensive reply.

But I still don’t get it, I’m afraid.

Why make a separat plugin if the function was already inherent in the original?
Or is it the automatic part that is in the extra plugin? Do I need to do it manually if I remove “Mailchimp User Sync” (the “Renew Mailchimp list”-button in the MC4WP menu perhaps)?

I’ve looked but have been unable to find what “Mailchimp User Sync” does that “MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress” does not in that regard?

The MailChimp User Sync automatically synchronized WordPress users (not visitors, but actual user accounts) with a Mailchimp list.

@dvankooten. Again, thank you for taking time to answer.

My question is: If the basic plugin (MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress) does the same job, i.e. updating from WordPress user list to Mailchimp list (on your server), then are there any reason to keep MailChimp User Sync?

Shouldn’t I just delete it, if all I used it for was to keep WordPress user list synched with Mailchimp list?

Or do I loose any of abovementioned functionality by deleting MailChimp User Sync?

Regards

The normal Mailchimp for WordPress free plugin is for creating a form so that visitors can sign up, it does not sync your WordPress users.

Hope that helps. If you have any questions, please let me know!

Is the new sync functionality in the current premium add-on ? If not, when is it due ?

Hey @bruce1r,

We are planning to release an update to the premium version with “User Sync” features later this month.

Here’s the issue for me. MC User Sync has inexplicably stopped working on one of my web sites. The error messages are not helpful. Now I’m learning it is no longer supported and will someday be a paid premium. I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me as I have no path for support of a plug-in I’ve been using until/unless the new premium update happens. And at that point, I have to trust that it will fix the problem. Not a good situation when I need something working right now.

This is actually one of the reasons for us to go Premium with some of the UserSync features, it’s just so hard to setup and maintain it correctly and each situation seems unique making it very difficult for us to provide free support.

Rest assured that all our paid plugins come with a 30 day money back guarantee in case you are not happy or something isn’t working for you.

Anyway, the old usersync plugin, although it’s removed from the repository, should still work just fine. What features / setup are you using and what error messages do you see and when do you see those?