getting email addresses from forum users to announcement list

I want to start an announcement list for my website, femalesneakerfiend.com. I have about 16,000 users on my forums. Does anyone know an efficient way to grab their emails off my (dreamhosted) forums and send them an invite to the mailing list?
thanks in advance...
lori

Given all that is involved in the DreamHost Anti-Spam policy, I strongly suggest that you are far better off establishing your announcement list, and simply posting a link to a "sign up" page where users who are interested can subscribe.

This will put them through the approved "confirmed opt-in" process and help you stay clear of spam-related TOS ("Terms of Service") violations.

That said, and if you clearly understand what is involved TOS wise with adding name "en masse" to your list, you may be able to locate a phpBB plugin to "dump" your names/email addresses from the database into a format you could then cut'n'paste into the announcement list subscribers list. You could also probably do this with a phpMyAdmin dump, and a little processing/programming.

If you do decide to go that route, *please* take the time to read, and understand, the Anti-Spam policy things that are related to adding "manually" to a DreamHost announcement list.

You have a very nice site, and you certainly don't want it to get "hosed" over a few spam complaints.

--rlparker

And it HAS happened more than a few times.

This is how mail servers get grey-listed (Meaning they are spam suspects) causing slow performance when delivering mail to certain servers.

See all the gmail hoopla of the last month or so to see what damage ONE accident can cause.


Wholly - Use promo code WhollyMindless for full 97$ credit until 12/11/07.

thanks guys. I was definitely still imagining them going thru the initial manual opt-in process, so you're right, I could do it in reverse and have them contact me if they want to be in. thanks.

Don't forget that there's a 100/hr cap on sending mail manually (as in: *not* an Announce or Discussion list). And for good reason.

-Scott

do you know what the cap is for sending as an announcement? if my announcement list will eventually be large, do I need to look for another service?