Moderator Permission Set

[mynameisvlad]

What are moderators allowed to do in comparison to administrators and end users?

I’ve found that on my installation, moderators can’t access the topic’s Administration menu, which I find odd, as Moderators should be able to close topics, pin them, etc.

I’ve found that they also can’t view flagged topics/posts, which should probably be allowed, if they have a job to do.

So can moderators do anything other than edit and delete other people’s posts (oh and have a pretty yellow name background)?

[codinghorror]

Yes, this is a high priority on the list for @neil.

Can you update us as this goes here?

(Note that Vlad is a mod on greenheartgames forum so we want to unblock him…)

[neil]

Ok, it’s been moved up my list. I’ll post back here when I’ve made progress.

[mynameisvlad]

Awesome, cheers!

[sam]

I spent a few hours cleaning this up.

After my current checkin moderators are granted ALL of the permissions admins have except for the following:

• Moderators can not change site settings
• Moderators can not change site contents
• Moderators can not customize a site
• Moderators can not view the API key or generate one
• Moderators can not see the “health check” for the server
• Moderators can not “force a browser” refresh
• Moderators can not assign “moderator” status or revoke it.

EVERYTHING else is allowed by moderators, you can read a PM stream of a user, handle flags, view real emails, edit profiles, close/archive and delete topics

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Internally we have a bit of a terminology issue I would like us to resolve, when doing permission checks we talk about:

1. The “admins”
2. The group of users that are either “admin” or “moderator”
3. The “moderators”

I have no idea what to call group number 2 but I would really like a singular name we can use in code, cause at the moment its kind of crazy that User#moderator? denotes that group.

[mynameisvlad]

I have no idea what to call group number 2 but I would really like a singular name we can use in code, cause at the moment its kind of crazy that User#moderator? denotes that group.

Forum Staff? Some derivative of that? Is the term exposed anywhere, or is it just in the code?

You could also keep it as two permission sets, so “Moderator” would have the various thread abilities while “Administrator” has the site setting abilities. These would be side-by-side, so being an Administrator doesn’t automatically grant you access to the Moderator permission set. That way, if there was a user who just ran the forums, they wouldn’t get bogged down with flags and such. Might need better names for them, since Administrator in a way implies it being a superset of Moderator.

[sam]

Forum Staff?

Yes, totally, I am just working through a rename that renames this group to staff … renaming is hard.

[ajb]

SuperMod for No…2. I think there should be a communication channel, that ordinary moderators are not privileged to see in the event a member has an issue with one and needs to take it ‘higher’.

[mynameisvlad]

However, #2 isn’t saying a level between Admins and Mods, it’s a group consisting of both Admins and Mods.

I think there should be a communication channel, that ordinary moderators are not privileged to see in the event a member has an issue with one and needs to take it ‘higher’.

I feel like this would be a channel between Users and Administrators. I don’t think a level in between Moderators and Administrators is really needed.

[ajb]

Right…I thought this was another privilege set like a limited Admin.

[mynameisvlad]

One thing that came up in our moderator private chat thread at GreenHeartGames is the ability to merge threads, which @codinghorror can attest is sorely needed with all our duplicate threads. I saw that it’s in the works, but it’d be appreciated sooner rather than later for sure.

301 Moved Permanently

[sam]

One thing that came up in our moderator private chat thread at GreenHeartGames is the ability to merge threads

I agree, we really really want this feature.

[EvoGamer]

Another, less important Moderator feature to consider would be the ability to assign ‘Per Category’ Moderators, so you could have someone assigned to moderate just the ‘support’ category, or a bug-catcher in charge of a ‘bugs’ category.

Not a critical request, but something that came to mind when reading about the 2 permissions groups.

[sam]

‘Per Category’ Moderators

We have discussed this in the past and agree we want it, its just a bit out till we will have the time to build it.

[Lee_Ars]

@sam and/or @zogstrip - My moderators are reporting that they don’t have the ability add users to groups. In fact, they don’t even see a “Groups” button under their admin control panel. I created a quick test moderator account and logged in, and it looks like they’re right.

Can we get this added onto the to-do list? Managing group membership (especially as part of granting or denying access to restricted categories) is absolutely something moderators need to be able to do without bothering an admin.

[ekenheim]

Would like this aswell, the possibility for moderators for different categories being allowed to put users into groups as they see fit…

My moderators are reporting that they don’t have the ability add users to groups. In fact, they don’t even see a “Groups” button under their admin control panel.

[jmordica]

Hi @sam would you guys be willing to take some funding to build this feature? Let me know.

Thanks!

[codinghorror]

You can email us at team@discourse.org if you’d like to take a hosting contract.

Per category moderators has been requested a fair bit, will not make it into V1 though as we are trying to lock down for stability now.

[cosmo]

This would be a nice feature.

Would like this aswell, the possibility for moderators for different categories being allowed to put users into groups as they see fit…

Lee_Ars said:
My moderators are reporting that they don’t have the ability add users to groups. In fact, they don’t even see a “Groups” button under their admin control panel.

[emiliofcastillo]

Hate to be that guy who ask “that question” …but where can I can to see a clear outline or guide of what constitutes a level 1, a level 2, a level 3…a moderator…an admin?

I’ve seen several articles that speak about on or two of these, but I’ve not see one which has all on one sheet.

Thank you,