def _parse_user_ids(users, client):
    """parse a string of users separated by commas into IDS"""
    ids = []
    split_users = users.split(',')
    for u in split_users:
        u = u.strip()
        if len(u) > 0:
            uid = client.users.list(query=u)
            if uid:
                ids.append(uid[0]['id'])
    return ids