# View Forum as User X
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286
**Category:** Feature
**Created:** [June 5, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286 "2016-06-05T18:18:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Daonanda](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Daonanda)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286/1 "2016-06-05T18:18:41Z")
Just wondering if it possible to have an option where the forum can be viewed as a non-staff member without having to create a separate non-staff account? I feel it would be useful to see the forum through the eyes of members, not to spy on them but to see where the forum needs shoring up.
---
### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286/2 "2016-06-05T18:23:21Z")
Doesn’t impersonate user accomplish this?
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286/3 "2016-06-05T18:25:06Z")
It does but only the admin account used for initial setup has permission to impersonate others.
---
### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286/4 "2016-06-05T18:32:55Z")
Should [this](https://meta.discourse.org/t/description-of-various-user-states-in-discourse/35171) be corrected then?
> [@Understanding user statuses, roles, and permissions](https://meta.discourse.org/t/understanding-user-statuses-roles-and-permissions/35171/1):
>
> Discourse has many built in user states, the following describes the meaning of each state and basic storage implementation:
>
> Admin
>
> Admin users are the superusers in the system, they can:
>
> Impersonate non admins
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286/5 "2016-06-05T18:37:01Z")
I have never fully understood the distinction so you would need to,direct that at @sam.
---
### Author:  [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286/6 "2016-06-05T21:31:51Z")
Admin can impersonate anyone except for admins
Developers can impersonate anyone
---
### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286/7 "2016-06-05T21:35:56Z")
So my original suggestion stands? Simply impersonate the user that you want to see what they see?
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286/8 "2016-06-05T21:42:20Z")
Yes with the caveat that most admins will not be able to impersonate admins.
---
### Author:  [@Mittineague](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Mittineague)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286/9 "2016-06-05T22:04:26Z")
Be aware that impersonating a member may affect some statistics. for that member. eg. “last seen”.
It is as though that member actually logged in and did whatever was done during the impersonation.
---
### Author:  [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286/10 "2016-06-06T02:06:08Z")
Keep in mind, “impersonating” is there mainly as a “debugging” tool, it was never intended to be something you use regularly.
---
### Author:  [@purldator](https://meta.discourse.org/u/purldator)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/view-forum-as-user-x/45286/11 "2016-06-06T02:35:55Z")
> [@Daonanda](#):
>
> Just wondering if it possible to have an option where the forum can be viewed as a non-staff member without having to create a separate non-staff account?
For all the work involved under the hood, plus the moral implications, I would suggest you make that dummy account for your purposes.
I made one for the same exact reason while on SMF 2.0 RC, and it worked well for any situation where I needed to view the forum as a regular member, _without_ compromising a member’s privacy for a reason most would consider trivial.