Member Groups

Add Group
Part of customizing your board is creating unique member groups for things that you need, or for activities revolving around your board or site. This feature allows you to add and set up the permissions for a new member group that you require (figure a). There are a lot of areas to customize, but that will help you keep your groups distinct with what they can and cannot do.

Main Settings
Group Name - Create a name for your new member group .
Replace Pips with an image? - If you wish for them to have a special team icon, rather than a pip if you're using member titles, then you would enter the file name here, but NOT the path to the file name. These images have to be in the non-cgi/team_icons directory in your iB_html directory.
Maximum Upload file size (in k) - If you wish this member group to be able to upload files, this is where you set their limits at .
Can upload their own avatars? - Do you wish to allow this member group to upload their own avatars?
Can view board? - If you set this to no, then that member group will be unable to view the message board.
Can view member profile information? - This allows you to decide if you wish this member group to view other member's profiles or not.
Can view other members topics? - You can set it to where this member can only view topics they have started.
Can use the search feature? - You can enable or disable the new member group's ability to use the search feature.
Can use the 'Send Topic to Friend' feature? - This allows you to restrict those who are allowed to have a topic emailed to a friend.
Can use the 'Invite Friend' feature? - This allows you to permit or deny a member group the ability to invite a friend to your message board.
Can edit own profile information? - This allows you to decide if they are able to edit their own profile or if it must be done by an admin.
Can use the private messenger? - This feature can be turned off for any member group of your choosing. If set to no, then that member group will be unable to pm or private message another member of the board.
Maximum PM mailbox size (0 for unlimited) - This allows you to set limits on the size of their private message mailbox. Please list the size in kb, or leave 0 for an unlimited mailbox size.

The next area deals with their posting permissions. If you're making a moderator type group you may want to give them fewer limits, while a straight member group may hold more restrictions, but it's all up to you and what you need the group to be able to do (figure b).

Posting Permissions
Post new topics? - Set to yes, this will allow members of this group to start their own topics in forums where they have posting privileges.
Post new event? - If this is enabled, then areas available to post events for the event calendar will allow members of this group to post new events to the calendar, should they have posting privileges in that forum.
Can use the tool to track forums? - This will allow or disallow the members of this user group to track entire forums, should they choose to.
Reply to own topics? - This will determine if they can post replies to topics they have started or not.
Reply to other members topics? - Allowing this means that topics other members have started they will be able to reply in.
Edit own posts? - You may or may not wish for members of this group to edit their own posts, depending on your preferences.
Delete own posts? - Setting this to yes, will enable members from this group to delete their own posts.
Open and close own topics? - This will allow them to not only create a new topic (enabled or disabled in "post new topics") but also to close them, preventing other members from being able to post in those topics.
Delete own topics? - This would enable a member from this group to delete any topic they started.
Post Polls? - This allows members from this group to open new polls.
Vote in Polls? - Enabling this allows members from this group to be able to vote in any poll that is in an area where they are able to view topics.
Append 'Edited by' after a post edit? - This will allow members of this group to add a "note" when they have edited a post.
Avoid Moderation Queue? - This enables members of this group to be able to post and have their posts NOT need to go through the moderation queue, when that feature is enabled in the forum they are posting in.
Avoid Flood Control? - This allows members of this group to avoid "flood control" when it is set by the board admin. That is the feature used to help prevent from overloading a server's processor with heavily active boards.
Can view an OFFLINE board? - This, if enabled, would allow members of this group to be allowed to log in, should you have the board turned "offline".

Now you'll configure their administrative access, if you want them to have any, depending on what the group is intended for (figure c).

Administrative Permissions
Is Super (Global) Moderator? - This would allow them to act as moderator in multiple areas where they have permission to do so. A super moderator can use features of the mod cp that a typical moderator cannot, such as merging topics, moving and pruning topics.
Can access the Admin CP? - This would allow members of this group to access the administrator control panel, though it would be limited. For example, they could not make changes to the database or to skin or language settings.

Administration CP Permissions
Can read the Admin logs? - This would, if they were allowed into the administrator control panel, to read over the admin logs that record details of changes made by moderators and admins.
Can delete the Admin logs? - This would allow members of this group to delete admin logs that record the actions of moderators and admins.
Can edit member groups? - This is a feature that would allow a member group to made changes to member groups.

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Edit Groups
Sooner or later, likely if you've made your own custom member groups, you're going to need to edit them, as we all know things change over time (figure a). First off, you'll select whatever member group you need to edit. **NOTE** DO NOT EDIT the Super Administrators user group unless you know exactly what you're doing. If you edit the group's permissions or change your super administrators to another user group, you may loose total control of your board. Sometimes it is easy to fix, other times it is not.

The next area deals with their posting permissions. If you're making a moderator type group you may want to give them fewer limits, while a straight member group may hold more restrictions, but it's all up to you and what you need the group to be able to do (figure b).

Main Settings
Group Name - Create a name for your new member group .
Replace Pips with an image? - If you wish for them to have a special team icon, rather than a pip if you're using member titles, then you would enter the file name here, but NOT the path to the file name. These images have to be in the non-CGI/team_icons directory in your iB_html directory.
Maximum Upload file size (in k) - If you wish this member group to be able to upload files, this is where you set their limits at .
Can upload their own avatars? - Do you wish to allow this member group to upload their own avatars?
Can view board? - If you set this to no, then that member group will be unable to view the message board.
Can view member profile information? - This allows you to decide if you wish this member group to view other member's profiles or not.
Can view other members topics? - You can set it to where this member can only view topics they have started.
Can use the search feature? - You can enable or disable the new member group's ability to use the search feature.
Can use the 'Send Topic to Friend' feature? - This allows you to restrict those who are allowed to have a topic emailed to a friend.
Can use the 'Invite Friend' feature? - This allows you to permit or deny a member group the ability to invite a friend to your message board.
Can edit own profile information? - This allows you to decide if they are able to edit their own profile or if it must be done by an admin.
Can use the private messenger? - This feature can be turned off for any member group of your choosing. If set to no, then that member group will be unable to pm or private message another member of the board.
Maximum PM mailbox size (0 for unlimited) - This allows you to set limits on the size of their private message mailbox. Please list the size in kb, or leave 0 for an unlimited mailbox size.

The next area deals with their posting permissions. If you're making a moderator type group you may want to give them fewer limits, while a straight member group may hold more restrictions, but it's all up to you and what you need the group to be able to do (figure c).

Posting Permissions
Post new topics? - Set to yes, this will allow members of this group to start their own topics in forums where they have posting privileges.
Post new event? - If this is enabled, then areas available to post events for the event calendar will allow members of this group to post new events to the calendar, should they have posting privileges in that forum.
Can use the tool to track forums? - This will allow or disallow the members of this user group to track entire forums, should they choose to.
Reply to own topics? - This will determine if they can post replies to topics they have started or not.
Reply to other members topics? - Allowing this means that topics other members have started they will be able to reply in.
Edit own posts? - You may or may not wish for members of this group to edit their own posts, depending on your preferences.
Delete own posts? - Setting this to yes, will enable members from this group to delete their own posts.
Open and close own topics? - This will allow them to not only create a new topic (enabled or disabled in "post new topics") but also to close them, preventing other members from being able to post in those topics.
Delete own topics? - This would enable a member from this group to delete any topic they started.
Post Polls? - This allows members from this group to open new polls.
Vote in Polls? - Enabling this allows members from this group to be able to vote in any poll that is in an area where they are able to view topics.
Append 'Edited by' after a post edit? - This will allow members of this group to add a "note" when they have edited a post.
Avoid Moderation Queue? - This enables members of this group to be able to post and have their posts NOT need to go through the moderation queue, when that feature is enabled in the forum they are posting in.
Avoid Flood Control? - This allows members of this group to avoid "flood control" when it is set by the board admin. That is the feature used to help prevent from overloading a server's processor with heavily active boards.
Can view an OFFLINE board? - This, if enabled, would allow members of this group to be allowed to log in, should you have the board turned "offline".

Now you'll configure their administrative access, if you want them to have any, depending on what the group is intended for (figure d).

Administrative Permissions
Is Super (Global) Moderator? - This would allow them to act as moderator in multiple areas where they have permission to do so. A super moderator can use features of the mod cp that a typical moderator cannot, such as merging topics, moving and pruning topics.
Can access the Admin CP? - This would allow members of this group to access the administrator control panel, though it would be limited. For example, they could not make changes to the database or to skin or language settings.

Administration CP Permissions
Can read the Admin logs? - This would, if they were allowed into the administrator control panel, to read over the admin logs that record details of changes made by moderators and admins.
Can delete the Admin logs? - This would allow members of this group to delete admin logs that record the actions of moderators and admins.
Can edit member groups? - This is a feature that would allow a member group to made changes to member groups.

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Delete Groups
Outside of the default user groups, you can, if you wish, delete out member groups from the database. This is handy when you've created a member group that you, for whatever reason, no longer need. Members from the group that you delete will fall back into the default "Member" group (figure a).

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Default User Groups
Sometimes you may wish to adjust the default user groups for certain categories of members. For example, if you create a group you call "apprentices" that you want all newly registered members to be listed as by default, then you would go to where it says Registered Members and change it from Members to Apprentices (figure a). Please note that it is unwise to change your super administrators default group to something else unless you know exactly what you are doing. Many people end up locking themselves out of their boards upon doing this very thing.

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Edit a groups forum mask
This will allow you to change the forum mask permissions for the chosen membergroup in all forums, meaning that you can "mass adjust" the permissions levels for a specific member group. This is handy if you've just added a new membergroup and want to add permissions to multiple forums (figure a). First you will select a member group that you need to edit from the drop down list.

Next you will see a list of all the forums on your message board, listed under their respective categories. You'll see check boxes for each type of permission for each forum, except those where the permissions are set to allow "all member groups" to have the ability to perform an action in that forum (figure b).

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Written 7/12/02 by Snow Wolf for Ikonboard
Jarvis Network