Some features in this section are available in the professional version of this discussion board software only. Those items are indicated with a notation as shown here.
| Access Manager | DISCUS Administration Instructions |
The Access Manager allows moderators to configure who has posting and reading privileges in their topics. This selection can range from nobody at all (posting disabled) to anyone at all (public posting).
To access the Access Manager, click on "Access Manager" from the administration program main menu. Select the topic for which you wish to edit access privileges from the list by clicking on the appropriate link.
Posting privileges control who is allowed to post to a discussion, and also control some privileges associated with posting on the discussion board. There are two types of posting available for a discussion topic:
Unrestricted (public) posting
This setting allows anyone to post messages using any username and password. When public posting is enabled, the "Add a Message" forms on each page indicate the following: This is a public posting area. If you do not have an account, enter your full name into the "Username" box and leave the "Password" box empty. Your e-mail address is optional.
Restricted (private) posting
This setting restricts posting to moderators and/or users according to your specifications. When restricted posting is in effect, the "Add a Message" forms on each page indicate the following: This is a private posting area. A valid username and password combination is required to post messages to this discussion. Following are descriptions of four options available.
Each topic belongs to a group, which is indicated from the topic selection screen of the Access Manager and in parentheses next to the option. "Moderators in this group" is the collection of all moderators who are authorized to edit this topic. The option to turn this off is offered for completeness only but is essentially pointless, as any authorized moderator could log in and re-enable posting.
Each topic belongs to a group, which is indicated from the topic selection screen of the Access Manager and in parentheses next to the option. "Users in this group" is the collection of all users who were added by moderators through the User Manager interface, or who self-registered themselves if this option is available. To add and remove users, use the User Manager. The only reason you would really want to turn this off is if you are disabling posting in your topic.
Any moderator on the board, regardless of group assignments, can post. Note that allowing posting privileges does not grant any editing privileges to moderators -- only the board administrator (superuser) can allocate editing privileges. Enabling posting for all moderators registered with the system is recommended for topics containing moderator discussion or general discussion among all participants on a board.
Any registered user, regardless of group, can post. When you enable this option for users in every group, users whom you do not control through the User Manager, but who have been added by other moderators, will also have posting privileges. Enabling posting for all registered users is recommended for general discussion topics among all participants on a board. When this option is enabled, you will generally wish to enable the "Moderators in every group" option as well.
Additional Posting Options
Checking this box disables the ability of posters (whether registered moderators or users) to post as "Anonymous." (The box on the "Add a Message" form is disabled if this option is checked.)
Checking this box disables automatic linking of e-mail addresses (for example, president@whitehouse.gov) in the poster's name. This option can be used as an anti-spam measure or to protect sensitive e-mail addresses.
Checking this box disables placing a user's "full name" on their post. When this box is checked, only the username is displayed on the post. This option is generally recommended to be reserved for cases where users are abusing their privilege to enter their full names within their profiles.
In addition, you can disable all posting in your topic by clicking the "Disable All Posting" button. This is the equivalent of un-checking all boxes under "Unrestricted Posting" and "Restricted Posting" and then clicking the "Save" button. Disabling posting removes the "Add a Message" box from all pages, replacing it with a message that posting has been disabled.
Posting Privileges (Professional Version)
Posting privileges control who is allowed to post to a discussion, and also control some privileges associated with posting on the discussion board. In the professional version, there are three basic types of posting privileges that can be defined for a discussion topic.
All Posting Disabled
All posting in the topic is disabled. The "Add a Message" forms are replaced with notices that posting has been disabled in the topic. This is a good way to "shut down" an inactive topic or a topic into which you are moving old, archived messages and do not want people to post.
Public Posting (No Restrictions)
This setting allows anyone to post messages using any username and password. When public posting is enabled, the "Add a Message" forms on each page indicate the following: This is a public posting area. If you do not have an account, enter your full name into the "Username" box and leave the "Password" box empty. Your e-mail address is optional.
Restricted Posting
This setting restricts posting to moderators and/or users according to your specifications. When restricted posting is in effect, the "Add a Message" forms on each page indicate the following: This is a private posting area. A valid username and password combination is required to post messages to this discussion. Following are descriptions of the many options available.
Allows moderators from the group(s) you specify to post to the discussion. The most common option is to allow moderators from the group that owns the topic to be able to post to the topic (using the "Moderators in this group" option, where the group appears in parentheses). This also corresponds to all moderators permitted to edit the topic. You may choose to extend posting privileges to moderators in all groups (using the "Moderators in all groups" option), which allows any moderator to post. You may also choose exactly which groups of moderators to allow by clicking the "Configure" link next to the "Moderators in selected groups" option. Note that extending posting privileges to moderators does not extend editing privileges to those moderators, as only the board administrator can do this using the Group Manager.
Allows users from the group(s) you specify to post to the discussion. The most common option is to allow users from the group that owns the topic to be able to post to the topic (using the "Users in this group" option, where the group appears in parentheses). You may choose to extend posting privileges to users in all groups (using the "Users in all groups" option), which allows any user on the system to post. You may also choose exactly which groups of users to allow by clicking the "Configure" link next to the "Users in selected groups" option.
Allows you to set up one "global" password that allows posting to a discussion. Posting is accomplished by entering anything as the username and the global password set up here as the password. This is useful if you have a large number of authorized posters but you don't want to create an account for everyone, e.g., granting privileges to all students in a class without creating accounts. To configure a global password, click the "Configure" link. From the ensuing screen, you have the options to disable the global password, set a new global password, or, provided that a password has already been set, to continue using the same global password as you have been using.
Allows you to set up either authentication by IP (visitors from specified IP ranges can post) or rejection by IP (visitors from specified IP ranges cannot post). This is useful in allowing anyone from a given IP range, e.g., everyone logging in through your company's system, to be able to post without an account. Visitors from allowed IP ranges can enter anything they want as their username and password. To configure IP restrictions, click on the "Configure" link next to the option. On the ensuing screen, you can set up IP restrictions as instructed on that screen. Note that any forbidden addresses automatically override any permitted addresses in your lists. Also note that a moderator account, user account, or global password overrides any IP restrictions that may have been set (including "forbidden" settings) since it is assumed that if you created an account for someone, you want that person to be able to post.
Additional Posting Options
Checking this box disables the ability of posters (whether registered moderators or users) to post as "Anonymous." (The box on the "Add a Message" form is disabled if this option is checked.)
Checking this box disables automatic linking of e-mail addresses (for example, president@whitehouse.gov) in the poster's name. This option can be used as an anti-spam measure or to protect sensitive e-mail addresses.
Checking this box disables placing a user's "full name" on their post. When this box is checked, only the username is displayed on the post. This option is generally recommended to be reserved for cases where users are abusing their privilege to enter their full names within their profiles.
This enables message queueing, or "moderated posting," in this topic. Posts must be approved by a moderator prior to being displayed in public view. To configure message queueing, click the "Configure" link. Checking boxes for "Posts by registered users," "Posts by moderators," "Posts with global password," and "Posts by the public" allow you to specify which messages must be approved. The details of the message queue operations are explained in the Queue Manager section of the documentation.
Reading Privileges (Professional Version)
Reading privileges allow you to password-protect or otherwise restrict reading of the pages in your topic. Without meeting the specific criteria that you specify, people cannot read any of the discussion (or post to it, either, since they cannot access the appropriate pages).
When you specify any configuration other than public reading, the content of the topic is moved to a secure location on your server (the degree of security provided by this depends on the method in which the software was installed), and a visitor's access to all pages in that topic is restricted according to your configuration. This allows you to restrict reading to registered users or moderators on the system.
Reading privileges are configured using an interface equivalent to that used to specify Posting Privileges in the professional version.
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