Issue with Mailgun API: Conflicting Member Status Messages

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1

I’m having trouble with the Mailgun API. When I try to delete or update a mailing list member, I get a “Mailing list member not found” error. But when I attempt to add the same email address, it says “Address already exists”. This is confusing.

Here’s a simplified version of the code I’m using:

Function RemoveSubscriber(listAddress, userEmail)
    Dim apiClient = New APIClient("https://api.mailgun.net/v2")
    apiClient.SetAuth("api", API_KEY)
    
    Dim reqParams = New Dictionary(Of String, String)
    reqParams.Add("list", listAddress)
    reqParams.Add("member", userEmail)
    
    Return apiClient.SendRequest("DELETE", "lists/{list}/members/{member}", reqParams)
End Function

Has anyone else run into this issue? Any ideas on how to resolve these conflicting messages?

2

I’ve encountered a similar issue with the Mailgun API before, and it can be quite frustrating. In my experience, this problem often occurs due to caching or synchronization delays on Mailgun’s end.

One workaround I found effective was to implement a retry mechanism with a short delay between attempts. Something like this:

Function RemoveSubscriber(listAddress, userEmail)
    Dim apiClient = New APIClient("https://api.mailgun.net/v2")
    apiClient.SetAuth("api", API_KEY)
    
    Dim reqParams = New Dictionary(Of String, String)
    reqParams.Add("list", listAddress)
    reqParams.Add("member", userEmail)
    
    Dim maxAttempts = 3
    Dim attempt = 1
    
    While attempt <= maxAttempts
        Dim response = apiClient.SendRequest("DELETE", "lists/{list}/members/{member}", reqParams)
        If response.IsSuccessful Then
            Return response
        End If
        System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(2000) ' Wait 2 seconds before retrying
        attempt += 1
    End While
    
    Return "Failed after " & maxAttempts & " attempts"
End Function

This approach has helped me overcome the inconsistency in member status messages. If the issue persists, I’d recommend reaching out to Mailgun support for further assistance.

3

I’ve dealt with this Mailgun API inconsistency before. It’s likely due to eventual consistency in their distributed system. One approach that worked for me was to implement a ‘get’ request before any ‘delete’ or ‘add’ operations. This way, you can verify the current state of the member before taking action.

Here’s a rough idea:

Function ManageSubscriber(listAddress, userEmail, action)
    Dim apiClient = New APIClient("https://api.mailgun.net/v2")
    apiClient.SetAuth("api", API_KEY)
    
    Dim reqParams = New Dictionary(Of String, String)
    reqParams.Add("list", listAddress)
    reqParams.Add("member", userEmail)
    
    Dim memberStatus = apiClient.SendRequest("GET", "lists/{list}/members/{member}", reqParams)
    
    If action = "delete" And memberStatus.IsSuccessful Then
        Return apiClient.SendRequest("DELETE", "lists/{list}/members/{member}", reqParams)
    ElseIf action = "add" And Not memberStatus.IsSuccessful Then
        Return apiClient.SendRequest("POST", "lists/{list}/members", reqParams)
    End If
    
    Return "No action taken"
End Function

This approach should help mitigate the conflicting messages you’re experiencing.

4

hey man, ive run into this too. its a pain in the ass. one thing that worked for me was using a try-catch block to handle the errors. like this:

try
RemoveSubscriber(listAddress, userEmail)
catch ex as Exception
’ if it fails, try adding instead
AddSubscriber(listAddress, userEmail)
end try

might not be perfect but it helped me get around those weird conflicts. good luck!