This guide covers our old ProBoards v4 software. Click here for the ProBoards v5 Help Guide.
The Member Group feature is typically used by forum owners to assign administrative powers to other trusted members of the forum. It can also be used to restrict access to certain categories on the forum.
By default, all ProBoards hosted forums have three pre-established member groups: Administrator, Global Moderator, and Moderator. Forum members can be assigned privileges by putting them into one of these three groups.
To do so, visit a members profile page, click the Modify Profile link and scroll down to the Admin Functions section where you'll see the Member Group field. From the Member Group drop-down menu, choose the group you want the member to be part of and click Modify Profile at the bottom of the page to save the change.
The three pre-established member groups are separated and defined by their assigned powers:
Administrator: By default, the Administrator member-group has the most authority and privileges of all the member groups. The Administrator designation is assigned to members that moderate posts and make design and settings choices for the forum.
The only powers not automatically assigned to Administrators are managing the ad-free program, managing and deleting post attachments, and assigning other members to member groups. In essence, administrators are the designated operations managers of a forum. The user account admin (the forum owner) is the only account on the forum that commands all privileges at all times.
Global Moderator: By default, Global Moderators have roughly half of all possible forum privileges conveyed to them through this designation. Global Moderator authority is structured for members that will be moderating all posts, in all boards on the forum. However, unlike Administrators, they don't have the authority to change forum settings or forum design elements.
Moderator: Moderator authority is limited to moderating posts in specific boards on the forum. When a member is designated as a Moderator, they must also be assigned a specific board to moderate.
The main admin of a discussion board has the ability to modify the powers of any member group. Further, creating, modifying or deleting member groups can only be done by admin and these powers can not be assigned to other accounts on the forum.
To create a new member group with unique privileges, the discussion board admin must first navigate to the Member Groups section of the admin panel and click Create New Group.
Create New Group
This is where you'll be able to create a new member group for the forum. Once clicked, you'll be taken to the initial Create Member Group page with the following options to get started:
Group Name: This will be the name displayed in the mini-profile of any members assigned to this new group. You can use BBCode for additional text styling and have the group name display in different colors or a different font in a member's mini-profile.
Group is Staff?: This allows you to determine whether or not the group will be designated as forum Staff. When set to Yes, included group members will display on the View Staff Members link after clicking the Members button at the top of the forum.
Group Color: If you'd like group member display names to appear in a special color, input the 6-digit hex color code here. With a group-color set, members display names will appear in the specified color in the mini-profile area of posts they make, as well as in the Users Online list on the main page of the forum. This feature is optional and can be left blank if you wish.
Star: All members assigned to each group will have a star beneath their display name identifying the specific member group. A drop-down menu is provided with a preview of the star color options.
# of Stars: This option allows you to choose the number of stars that will show under member display names. You can enter a number from 0 to 20.
Limited Powers: When set to Yes, members of this new member group will have moderator powers only in boards they are assigned to moderate. To designate a moderator for a board, visit the Modify Board link in the Boards section of the admin panel, select a board name from the drop-down menu and click Continue. On the next page, find the Moderators field in the Board Settings section and enter the username of the member(s) you'd like to have moderate that board.
With Limited Powers set to No, the powers assigned on the next page can be used by members of this group in any area or message board on the forum.
When you have all of the above options filled out to your satisfaction, click Continue. On the next page you'll be required to choose which moderator privileges you want members of this new group to have. Below is a description of each privilege its enabled state (set to Yes):
Bump Threads: Group members will have the ability to bump threads to the top of thread listing pages in boards on the forum without actually having to make a post.
Make Announcements: Group members will have the ability to create and post announcement threads on the discussion forum. Announcement threads will appear on every board on the forum, regardless of where the initial thread was created.
Sticky Threads: Group members will be able to post sticky threads on the discussion forum which will always appear at the top of thread listing pages inside the board the thread is listed in.
Move Threads: Group members will have the ability to move threads from one board on the forum to another board.
Delete Threads: Group members will have the ability to delete message board threads made by other members of the discussion forum.
Delete Posts: Group members will have the ability to delete posts made in threads by other members.
Modify Posts: Group members will be able to modify the subject lines or message content in forum posts made by other members.
Lock Threads: Group members will be able to lock threads listed in boards to prevent the posting of new messages by other forum members.
Reply to Locked Threads: Group members will be able to post replies in message board threads that have been locked.
Lock Polls: Group members will be able to lock polls created by other forum members, thus preventing further voting from forum members.
Advanced Moderation Mode: Group members will be empowered to lock, delete, sticky, move, or bump multiple topics at one time and will be provided an Advanced Moderation button at the top or bottom of thread listing pages where they can enable or disable the feature.
View Poll Voters: Group members will be able to view the display names of forum users that have voted in polls. When enabled, a View Poll Voters button will appear under the poll results of every forum poll.
View IPs: Group members will be able to view the IP address of other forum members, both in their member profile pages, as well as in the bottom-right corner of any posts made on the message board.
Manage Boards: Group members will be given access to the features and options in the Boards category of the admin panel. This allows group members to create, modify, delete, or move boards on the forum.
Manage Categories: Group members will be given access to the Categories section of the admin panel which will allow them to create, modify, delete, or reorder categories on the message board.
Modify Avatars: With access to the Avatars link in the Customize Your Forum section of the admin panel, group members will be able to add or remove graphics from the forum's default avatar collection that forum users can choose from when modifying their profiles.
General Settings: With access to General Settings in the Customize Your Forum section of the admin panel, group members will have the ability to change the forum title, banner ad preferences, enable/disable account sign-ups and activations, change the default forum time zone, and much more.
Headers and Footers: When permitted, group members will have the ability to add or make changes to forum coding from the forum's headers and footers area of the admin panel.
Modify News: When granted permission, group members will have the power to disable or enable the news fader from the discussion boards home page. With this permission enabled, they will also have the ability to change the information the news fader displays.
Manage Skins: When given access to the Skins/Forum Colors link, group members will have the ability to create, modify, or delete any skins on the forum. This will also allow them to modify the forums default images as well as determine which skin will be the discussion boards default skin.
Warn Members: Here, group members will be able to assign and increase/decrease member warning levels. Warnings are issued by moderators through forum profiles on each members' Modify Profile page.
Ban Members: When enabled, group members will have the authority to ban other members from the discussion forum. They'll also be able to remove existing bans through the Ban Member link in the Manage Members section of the admin panel.
Approve Members: If the Limited Registrations feature is enabled on the forum, each new account will have to be approved by forum staff before new members can login and participate in message board discussions. When set to Yes, this option gives group members the authority to approve or deny new member accounts.
Email All: With this feature enabled, members of the group can use the Email All link in the Manage Members section of the admin panel to send mass emails to all forum members that have opted-in.
PM All: With this authority, group members can send Private Messages to all discussion forum members simultaneously. This feature can be accessed by visiting the PM All link in the Manage Members section of the admin panel.
Modify Ranks: With this authority, group members can modify member rankings on the forum. Member ranks appear under display names and reflect the number of posts each member has contributed to the message board. When enabled, group members will have access to the Modify Rankings link in the Manage Members section of the admin panel.
Search members: This will provide members of the group the ability to search forum members based on email address, username, IP Address, registration date, last login date, member group or, by the number of posts they've submitted to the message board. Group members will also be able to search unactivated or disabled accounts for member information.
Delete Old Posts: Group members will be given access to the Delete Old Posts link provided in the Manage Posts section of the admin panel and will be able to delete any posts on the message board.
Delete Posts by User: Group members will be given access to the Delete Threads/Posts by Member link provided in the Manage Posts category of the admin panel. With this enabled, members of the group can delete any threads or posts that have ever been made by a specific member of the forum.
Modify Censored Words: Group members will be given access to the Censored Words link provided in the Restrictions category of the admin panel to change, add, or delete censored words on the forum.
Modify Reserved Names: This allows members of the group to add or remove names from the Reserved Names list. If a display name is on the Reserved Names list, then it can not be registered by new forum members or used by existing members who want to change their display names.
Create Accounts: This is tied to the Disable Signups option in the General Settings section of the admin panel. If forum sign-ups are disabled, members of this group will then have the authority to create new member accounts on the forum when logged into their account.
Delete Users: With the exception of other staff members accounts, authorized group members will be able to delete member user accounts from the forum. This is done using the Delete Account button found at the bottom of the Modify Profile page for the forum account being deleted.
Edit Profiles: With the exception of the main admin account, authorized group members will be able to modify the profiles of other members on the online forum.
See Invisible Users: With this option enabled, group members can view invisible members in the Users Online list in the info center on the forum main page. Invisible members are those who have enabled the Stay Invisible option found on their modify profile pages.
View Hidden Emails: Group members will be able to view the email addresses of members that have chosen to hide this information from other forum members.
View Hidden Birthdays: Group members will be able to view the birthdays of all members on the forum, including those that have opted to hide their birth date information from other forum members.
Delete Calendar Entries: Group members will be able to delete events created in the forum calendar.
Modify Calendar Entries: Group members will be able to modify events created in the forum calendar.
Critical Admin Powers
We recommend assigning the powers described below only to those members of your discussion forum that you trust completely. If you are unsure, it's advised to keep these options set to No.
Manage Ad-Free: Authorized group members will be able to manage and apply ad-free credits purchased by other forum members however they choose. Please consider the implications before delegating this authority.
Manage Attachments: Group members will be able to access the Attachments link found in the Manage Posts section of the admin panel. There, group members can view attached files, how much storage space is being used and, how much storage space is still available. They'll also have the ability to delete attachments from any member post on the forum.
Assign Member Groups: We recommend activating this option only if you have complete trust in the members assigned to this member group. With this feature enabled, all members of this group will have the authority to promote regular members to any member group, as well as the ability to demote staff members back to regular member status (excluding the main admin account).
Once you have permissions set, finish the process by clicking the Modify Group button at the bottom of the page. After the group is created, you can promote members to this group by visiting individual member profiles and clicking the Modify Profile link.
At the bottom of the Modify Profile page, you'll see the Admin Functions section where the first option listed will be for assigning Member Group authority. Complete this process for each member you would like to assign as a member of the group.