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A premium content forum#

In this example, we will restrict access to a single forum, then allow users to purchase a recurring subscription that grants access to that forum.

Subscribers user group#

  1. Create a new user group using Groups and permissions > User groups > Add user group.
  2. Give the group the title Subscribers and leave all the other options at their defaults.
  3. Save the user group.

Premium content forum#

  1. Create a new General discussion forum using Forums > Nodes > Add node.
  2. Entitle the forum Premium content and provide any other configuration you want.
  3. Save the forum.

Restricting access#

  1. Back on the node list, click the Permissions control for the newly-created forum.
  2. At the top of the page, check the Private node option and hit the Save button below.

Granting access#

  1. In the list of User groups below, click on Subscribers to edit their permissions.
  2. Using the permission matrix, set the View node permission to Yes.
  3. Save the permissions.

Note

The Private forum setting only affects the View node permission, without which all access to the node is denied. If a group is granted View node permission to a private node, the remainder of its permissions, such as Post new thread and Post replies are inherited from their standard user group permissions - there is no need to explicitly grant these permissions again using node permissions.

Allowing access to be purchased#

  1. Create a payment profile using one of the available services, if you have not already done so.
  2. Add a new User upgrade at Users > User customization > User upgrades > Add user upgrade.
  3. Call the new upgrade Premium forum access using the Title field.
  4. Optionally add a description.
  5. Set a cost and a currency for your subscription.
  6. Change the Length from Permanent to 1 month and check the Recurring payments option.
  7. Select the payment profile(s) you want to use for this subscription.
  8. Select the Subscribers group under Additional user groups.
  9. Save the upgrade configuration.

Now, users will be able to purchase the Premium forum access subscription from their Account upgrades page.

When payment is received, the system will automatically add their membership to the Subscribers user group, which grants access to the Premium content forum for one month.

When the month is over, the system will automatically take a further payment to continue the subscription.

If the payment fails, or the user cancels their subscription, they will automatically be removed from the Subscribers user group and will lose access to the Premium content forum when their subscription term ends.

Note

Don't forget to grant access to your moderators and administrators too, or they will be unable to view the Premium content forum.

You can either add all your moderators and administrators to the Subscribers user group, or set permissions for those groups too.