Snog submitted a new resource: Thread Level Permissions (AKA: Private Threads) - Create threads only invited members can view Read more about this resource...
@Snog Suggestion: Too expensive at 25$ (cheaper price?) Any possibility to restrict thread to user groups?
Nope to the price. (I don't know what you think would be a fair price. But it is more than fair for both the time required to create the add-on and for any updates that might be needed in the future.) And no to user groups at this time. It's intended to be by user invite only.
Cool idea , few questions and suggestions if they aren't implemented If we add a user after the thread is created do they get an alert? Is there an option to make every thread in a specific node to be "private" so you don't check the box every time? Would it be an easy feature to add to where when adding a user to a thread it would run a user promotion? Essentially my idea of this plugin if I'm thinking correctly would be to setup a single node called "Custom Jobs", in this custom jobs I'd create a thread and invite users to specific threads. The node would be restricted to a specific usergroup, but inviting the user would run a promotion putting them into that user group. This way... the users would only see the node if they had a thread they were invited too.
Yes it happens now if the option is checked in the add-on options. Not at this time. The idea was originally to be used with my social groups add-on and to allow both normal threads and private threads in the same group forum. It made no sense to do it just for social groups, so I expanded it to encompass any forum. Same as the second item. But, there's no need to restrict the forum (node) itself to a user group since only threads the user is invited to can be seen. In other words, if the user isn't included in any threads, when they view the forum it will appear to be empty.
If anyone wants to see what it looks like when a private thread exists in a live forum. There is currently one private thread in this forum on my site... https://snogssite.com/forums/private-thread-test-forum.159/ If someone wants to see a thread they are a member of, send me a PC on my site and I'll start a private thread with you.
Is the add/remove in the thread tools related to a permission? Or will all the thread owners be able to use that on their own private thread? Also can you convert an existing thread into a private thread or is this only for new threads.
If the thread owner has permission to create a private thread, the add/remove members in thread tools is automatically available to them. There's not a separate permission for that function. At this point in time, it is only for new threads.
No, since they have no idea the thread exists, there would be no button to ask to join. They may know threads exist if they look at the forum message count (which was an oversight on my part that will be corrected at some point), but they have no idea what the topics are, who the owners are or who to send a request to.
@Snog how does this interact with user permissions where they are forbidden to post in a forum, or reply-banned? (I've got an existing private add-on which does something similar, and am wondering how you deal with it)
All of the XF permissions are still intact. Nothing changes with those. So if a user can't post in a forum or thread they receive whatever error they would normally receive.
Snog updated Thread Level Permissions (AKA: Private Threads) with a new update entry: Thread Level Permissions Update 1.0.1 Read the rest of this update entry...
Some private threads are likely to contain very sensitive information. Add - Option to change private threads to public threads could be very dangerous !!! maybe by default only superadmins can do it ?
Depending on what is in the thread, that can be quite true. That's why it's an option and not allowed if it's not set by the admin.
How about having the thread starter submit a request when they want to make a private thread public (like moderated username change requests for example)? There'd need to be a new permission for "can approve private to public thread status changes" or some such thing. Also, I'd consider a limit on the number of times the status of a particular thread could be changed to 1 or 2.
For security reasons, moderators do not have access to private threads unless they are invited. Only admins can view all private threads and only the original thread starter can change a threads status from private to public or public to private (they must have permission to start a private thread in either case).
Thanks Snog - I get that. My suggestion is meant to be a check on a member changing the status of a thread to public when it could be harmful to one or more participating members. So, when a thread starter wants to change the status to public, instead of it happening instantly, a dialogue box would open and ask for a reason for changing the status. That would cause an alert for administrators with permission to "approve status changes" to view the private thread and determine if it's "safe" to convert it to a public thread. There would be an approve, ignore, and deny button for them to push depending on the situation.
I see. I'll put it on the wish list as a option. And just as an FYI, this was originally developed for a site that has high profile producers, directors, actors, models, photographers, etc. present on the site (sorry, no name dropping is going to come from me). It is used mostly for detailed discussions about projects and scheduling who needs to be where and when. And using PCs to do that would be cumbersome since once someone's services are no longer needed they need to be removed from the discussion. Any of that information leaking out could be disastrous for the project. That is why the thread starter (usually a producer or director) has full control over the thread. I saw a possibility that other sites may need something like this, that's why the public release. Anything to do with control over the thread will most likely always be an option, not a requirement. And the option to change a public thread to a private thread was suggested above. So I automatically did the opposite to go with it. So, I'm sure it can use some improvement.
