Customizing SMF > Building Your Community and other Forum Advice

Create Private Boards/Forums

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Kill Em All:
This is just a one stop shop post to help people create a private forum/board, standard needs I guess. :p

SMF 1.1.x and 2.0 RC2
Guests can't view forum
Go to:
Admin>Features and Options>Basic Features>Allow guests to browse the forum>Untick this option>Save
Admin>Permissions>Guests>Modify>Tick and untick options as you see fit.

Guests can view forum but nothing further
Go go:
Admin>Features and Options>Basic Features>Allow guests to browse the forum>Tick this option>Save
As of right now, this package, Look But No Read is compatible with SMF 1.1.11 and 2.0 RC2.
Download the above package, upload it, make sure no tests fail, install it. If using a custom theme, you will need to make custom edits.
Admin>Permissions>Guests>Modify>Tick and untick options as you see fit.

Private Boards
Admin>Boards>Find board and on the right click modify>Allowed Groups>Tick the groups you want to have access to that board and untick the ones you don't.
If desired, you can password protect a board(s). Password Protect Boards. This however only works with SMF 1.1.x. Not 2.0 as of now.

Completely separate forum
There are quite a few things you can do here, I will go over some of the more common ones and throw stupid one in there. ;)

First make another install of SMF, then you have the following options:
- If you need help install SMF, again I guess if your reading this :p, please read the docs about it.

- If on the same server(because this can be challenging if on a separate server), you can do this:
Multiple Forums Connecting each other
or
Share user database with 2 or more forums

You can also just have your staff re-register at the new private forum to.

Redirection
For easy access to your other forum, you can create a Redirect board that is only shown to the groups you want to see it.
In SMF 2.0, this is already a feature, go to:
Admin>Boards>Modify>Redirect to a web address:>tick that>Address to redirect users to:>type in your private website.>Save

For 1.1.x, you need to install Redirection Boards
Then follow the same concept.

cPanel
In your cpanel, you can also password protect your directories. Such as the directory holding your private SMF forum.
Login to your cPanel and go to:
Security>Password Protect Directories>Select your directory>Follow the instructions.

That may vary by host and depending on what control panel you have.



Quick Notes:

If you have just moderators(not global moderators), and you want them to have access to one of the private boards, you can do this:
Admin>Membergroups>Add Membergroup>Name it, and set Permissions by type: Standard>Visible boards, tick all the ones you want them to see and leave the ones you don't want them to see unticked>Add group.

With the board they do moderate, make sure they are on that board's moderator list.
Admin>Boards>find board you want then click Modify>Moderators, add their username>Save.

Hope this helps some people, I will add more as I think of them. :)

UBER__:
Hello,

how do you get the section to come up as a forum but show the word "Private" and only visble to mods, VIP members, etc..


Best regards,

cowboyup910

Kindred:
you don't..... at least not without re-coding the system.

UBER__:
Hello,

then any idea of a work around. A section for VIP members that's private but also listed somewhere so regular members know there is a VIP section.

Is my request silly or far fetch?


Best regards,

cowboyup910

Kindred:
there are a few mods which allow viewing but not access to boards.

personally, I am of the opinion that, if I can see it, I should be able to access it -- and I get pissed off with sites who show me something but then say "you need to do something special to get access to this"

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